RUSTON – No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech will battle No. 5 seed Middle Tennessee on Thursday night in the Conference USA Basketball Championship quarterfinals at VBC Propst Arena.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, March 12 | 5:30 p.m. CT
Location: VBC Propst Arena (Huntsville, Ala.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app 
 
ABOUT #4 LOUISIANA TECH
LA Tech closed out the regular season on a high note, winning four of its last six games including a road sweep against Liberty and Delaware. The Bulldogs never trailed in either game against the Flames and Blue Hens, winning 76-71 and 81-38, respectively. It marked the first time since 2018 that Liberty never led in a home game as LA Tech handed LU just its third league loss of the season. Then against UD, the 'Dogs used a 28-0 run in the second half to record a 43-point victory, the largest in program history in a road game.
 
The Bulldogs enter the conference tournament with the No. 1 defense in the league. LA Tech ranks eighth in the country in scoring defense (64.6) and 10th in field goal percentage defense (39.0). LA Tech ranked first in both categories during conference play as well.
 
LA Tech has dominated the glass the majority of the season, outre­bounding 21 of its 31 opponents (including 11 of its last 14). Most recent­ly, the Bulldogs had a +10 rebounding margin against Liberty and a +14 rebounding margin versus Delaware. The team ranks top 50 in the nation in several rebounding categories including rebounds per game (43rd -- 38.65), offensive rebounds per game (27th -- 13.00), and rebounding margin (33rd -- +5.8).
 
Offensively, the paint has been a place where the Bulldogs have thrived. LA Tech is averaging 33.5 paint points per game, having scored 30+ 23 times (have done so in 14 of the 20 league games).
 
DJ Dudley was named Third Team All-CUSA. The junior has been the Bulldogs' top scoring option throughout the season, averaging a team-best 14.1 points per game. The sharpshooter also anchored the team's perimeter attack, knocking down 57 three-pointers at a 39.0 percent clip while adding 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.9 steals per contest.
 
AJ Bates was named Honorable Mention All-CUSA. Bates, the Bulldogs' floor general, is averaging 11.2 points per game, second most on the team, while also serving as the team's primary playmaker. The guard is the only Bulldog to start all 31 games this season and leads the team with 5.9 assists per game, a mark that ranks 30th nationally. His 182 total assists this season rank as the 10th most in LA Tech single-season history, and he recorded at least five assists in 20 games.
 
Melian Martinez was named to the CUSA All-Defensive Team. The cen­ter anchored the Bulldogs' defense after leading the conference in both blocks per game (1.81) and total blocks (49). His shot-blocking presence also ranks 38th nationally in blocks per game and 58th in total blocks. He has recorded at least three blocks in 10 games this season and averaged 2.21 blocks per game during conference play, the top mark in the league.
 
ABOUT #5 MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Middle Tennessee enters the CUSA Tourna­ment as one of, if not the, hottest teams in the league. The Blue Raiders have won five straight, including a road sweep at FIU and Missouri State to close out the regular season to finish with a conference record of 11-9.
 
The winning streak came after a rough confer­ence stretch where MTSU lost seven of eight. As a result, the Blue Raiders ended up in a three-way tie for third in the league standings along with WKU and LA Tech. After tiebreak­ers, they earned the No. 5 seed in the postsea­son tournament.
 
MTSU will pull the trigger from three early and often. LA Tech knows all about that after the Blue Raiders set a single-game program re­cord with 22 made triples in the first meeting. They are currently averaging 27.3 three-point attempts per game, second most in the league and 45th most in the country. As a result, the Blue Raiders are averaging 9.3 made threes per game. During conference play, MTSU has made 182 triples for an average of 9.1 per game, both of which rank third in the league.
 
A pair of Blue Raiders received postseason honors as Torey Alston was named Third Team All-CUSA while Kamari Lands was voted Hon­orable Mention All-CUSA. After being named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team last season, Alston leads the team in rebounding in con­ference games at 7.6 and is second in points at 13.7. Meanwhile, Lands leads the team in points in league games with 14.5 and has led the team.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus MTSU, 18-10. The two teams split the season series with each winning at home. The last meeting came in Ruston on Jan. 14 with the Bulldogs overcoming a 20-point deficit to stun the Blue Raiders, 59-58.
 
This will mark the third straight year that LA Tech and MTSU face off in the opening round of the CUSA Tournament. Both contests have gone down to the wire with the Blue Raiders coming out on top each game. In 2024, MTSU edged LA Tech 70-67. Last season, the two teams went into double overtime with the Blue Raiders prevailing 77-75.
 
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