LOUISIANA TECH 2024-25 BULLDOG BASKETBALL
All home games CAPS | All times CST and subject to change # Icons of the Game (Long Island, N.Y.) ^ Gulf Coast Showcase (Estero, Fla.) * Conference USA game | $ Huntsville, Ala.
A LA TECH WIN... • Would extend the Bulldogs home winning streak to nine games. LA Tech has had at least a nine-game home winning streak in eight of the last 12 seasons. • Would give the Bulldogs their 112th victory when facing an opponent in the TAC for the first time. LA Tech is 4-0 against firsttime opponents at home this season (111-17 all-time). • Would give the Bulldogs their 18th win of the season. LA Tech has won 18+ games in 11 of the last 13 seasons.
@LATECHHOOPS
AP Poll: NR Coaches Poll: NR NET Ranking: 119
VS KENNESAW STATE OWLS (14-10, 6-5 cusa) Head Coach: Antoine Pettway Record at KSU: 29-26 (2nd year) Career Record: Same Record vs. LA Tech: 1-0
AP Poll: NR Coaches Poll: NR NET Ranking: 159
BULLDOG STORYLINES & PROJECTED STARTERS
4 SEAN NEWMAN JR.
• Louisiana Tech puts its eight-game home winning streak on the line Thursday night when the Bulldogs host Kennesaw State inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. LA Tech, winners of four of its last five, is currently tied for fifth in the Conference USA standings. • After dropping its first five conference road games, LA Tech picked up its first league win away from home in an 82-71 victory at FIU. The Bulldogs never trailed in the game, leading by as much as 18 points in the first half. It marked the first time since Jan. 23, 2021 at UTEP that LA Tech never trailed in a road game.
• Amaree Abram led the Bulldogs in scoring versus the Panthers, tallying a game-high 20 points (second most scored this season). He made four three-pointers in the process, giving him a team-best 52 triples this season. His shooting percentage is on the rise as of late, averaging 14.7 points over the last three games while shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 50.0 from beyond the arc. • Sean Newman Jr. ranks top three in the country in both total assists (210) and assists per game (8.8). His six dimes at FIU brought his season assists total to 210, which ranks as the fourth most in program history. He currently has a streak of 17 consecutive games with at least five assists, the second longest streak in school history. He has recorded at least five dimes in 23 of the 24 games played this season. • Daniel Batcho was productive on both ends at FIU, registering 17 points while also recording three blocks (ninth time this season he has posted at least 10 points and three rejections in a single game). He continues to be the nation’s leader in field goal percentage at 69.7 percent. He now has 52 blocks on the season, 12th most in the country. He is currently one of only three players in the country (along with Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton and Johni Broome of Auburn) to be averaging at least 18 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks per game. • Talvin Hester is in his third season at the helm at LA Tech. In his second year, Hester was able to blend in seven newcomers in route to a 22-win season and a second-place finish in CUSA. He will be tasked with the same thing as seven newcomers join the 2024-25 squad, mixed in with six returners (five of which made a combined 67 starts last season). • LA Tech was picked to finish first in the Conference USA preseason poll, as voted on by the league head coaches. It was definitely not unanimous as five of the 10 conference teams picked up at least one first-place vote and the top three were separated by only four points. This marks the first time since 2014 that the Bulldogs are preseason league favorites.
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1
AMAREE ABRAM
• The story of the game was the play of AJ Bates. The freshman from Houston, Texas made his first collegiate start and ended up playing the entire 40 minutes while registering career highs in points (19), made field goals (8), assists (7), and steals (3). He became the first LA Tech freshman since 2023 to play an entire game and his 19 points was the second most scored by a freshman in their first career start since 1997.
9.9 ppg | 2.3 rpg | 8.8 apg
12.1 ppg | 4.7 rpg | 1.7 spg
3
• The Bulldogs found their offense again, shooting 60.8 percent from the field versus the Panthers which was their second-best shooting performance of the season. It was also the third-best shooting percentage ever for LA Tech in a CUSA game. The ‘Dogs currently rank 44th in the country in field goal percentage (47.8).
AJ BATES
Overall: 17-7 | CUSA: 6-5 | H: 10-1 | A: 3-6 | N: 4-0 NOVEMBER MEDIA W/L SCORE 4 LSU-ALEXANDRIA ESPN+ W 77-50 9 at UT Arlington ESPN+ W 92-77 13 vs. UMass# MSG+ W 76-66 18 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE ESPN+ W 105-67 25 vs. Southern Illinois^ FloCollege W 85-79OT 26 vs. Richmond^ FloCollege W 65-62 27 vs. Eastern Kentucky^ FloCollege W 78-69 30 SOUTHERN ESPN+ L 70-73 DECEMBER 4 at #16 Memphis ESPN+ L 71-81 8 at UL-Lafayette ESPN+ W 69-58 13 GEORGIA SOUTHERN ESPN+ W 77-63 16 GRAND CANYON ESPN+ W 74-66 21 RUST COLLEGE ESPN+ W 108-60 JANUARY 2 at UTEP* ESPN+ L 60-70 4 at New Mexico State* ESPN+ L 48-78 9 FIU* ESPN+ W 81-64 11 LIBERTY* ESPNU W 79-74 16 at Jacksonville State* ESPN+ L 61-63 18 at Kennesaw State* ESPN+ L 76-78 23 WKU* CBS SN W 77-67 25 MIDDLE TENNESSEE* ESPNU W 75-69 FEBRUARY 1 SAM HOUSTON* ESPNU W 66-61OT 6 at Liberty* CBS SN L 53-77 8 at FIU* ESPN+ W 82-71 13 KENNESAW STATE* ESPN+ 6:30 p.m. 15 JACKSONVILLE STATE* ESPN+ 3 p.m. 20 at Middle Tennessee* CBS SN 8 p.m. 22 at WKU* ESPN+ 7 p.m. MARCH 1 at Sam Houston* ESPN+ 4:30 p.m. 6 NEW MEXICO STATE* ESPN+ 6:30 p.m. 8 UTEP* ESPN+ 2 p.m. 11 CUSA Championship$ ----- TBA
Head Coach: Talvin Hester Record at LA Tech: 54-35 (3rd year) Career Record: Same Record vs. KSU: 0-1
3.7 ppg | 1.8 rpg | 1.6 apg
0
2024-25 SCHEDULE
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGs (17-7, 6-5 cusa)
DEVIN REE
DATE/TIME: Thursday, Feb. 13 | 6:30 p.m. CT LOCATION: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.) SERIES HISTORY: Kennesaw State, 1-0 STREAK: Kennesaw State, 1 LAST MEETING: Jan. 18, 2025 | Kennesaw, Ga. KSU 78, LA Tech 76 MEDIA: ESPN+ TALENT: Lyn Rollins (pxp), Victor Howell (analyst) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
GAME 25 MATCHUP
5.0 ppg | 3.5 rpg | 0.4 apg
DANIEL 13 BATCHO
GAMEDAY INFO
18.3 ppg | 7.0 rpg | 2.3 bpg
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