LOUISIANA TECH 2023-24 BULLDOG BASKETBALL GAME 32 MATCHUP
GAMEDAY INFO DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 13 | 8 p.m. CT LOCATION: VBC Propst Arena (Huntsville, Ala.) SERIES HISTORY: LA Tech leads, 15-7 STREAK: LA Tech, 2 LAST MEETING: March 9, 2024 | Ruston, La. LA Tech 84, Middle Tennessee 70 MEDIA: ESPN+ TALENT: Matt Warner (pxp), Paul Nazigian (analyst) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app TALENT: Malcolm Butler (pxp) STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
2023-24 SCHEDULE MEDIA MWN ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+ MWN
Head Coach: Talvin Hester Record at LA Tech: 37-27 (2nd year) Career Record: Same Record vs. MTSU: 2-2
AP Poll: NR USA Today Poll: NR NET Ranking: 94
VS #7 MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS (13-18) Head Coach: Nick McDevitt Record at MTSU: 82-105 (6th year) Career Record: 180-171 (11th year) Record vs. LA Tech: 2-4
AP Poll: NR USA Today Poll: NR NET Ranking: 289
BULLDOG STORYLINES
Overall: 22-9 | CUSA: 12-4 | H: 14-2 | A: 8-7 | N: 0-0 NOVEMBER 6 at Colorado State 13 LYON COLLEGE 16 at ULM 21 SOUTHERN UTAH^ 22 MCNEESE STATE^ 25 DILLARD 29 at New Mexico
#2 LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGs (22-9)
W/L L W W W W W L
SCORE 73-81 100-43 73-63 67-53 71-62 105-65 65-74
DECEMBER 2 NICHOLLS ESPN+ W 68-55 5 at Stephen F. Austin ESPN+ W 56-49 9 UL-LAFAYETTE ESPN+ W 72-67 12 SOUTHEASTERN ESPN+ W 89-60 16 at Saint Louis ESPN+ L 74-75 20 at Seattle U ESPN+ L 73-79OT 30 at Grand Canyon ESPN+ L 70-73 JANUARY 3 DALLAS CHRISTIAN ESPN+ W 96-55 6 at Sam Houston* ESPN+ L 77-81 11 at Middle Tennessee* CBS SN W 60-52 14 LIBERTY* ESPN2 W 80-76OT 20 at Jacksonville State* ESPN+ W 74-57 25 UTEP* ESPN+ W 68-54 27 NEW MEXICO STATE* ESPN+ W 73-53 FEBRUARY 1 at FIU* ESPN+ W 93-53 7 WKU* ESPN+ L 76-81 10 at Liberty* ESPNU L 62-65 15 JACKSONVILLE STATE* ESPN+ W 63-58 17 FIU* ESPN+ W 75-68 22 at UTEP* ESPN+ W 65-59 24 at New Mexico State* ESPN+ W 67-58 28 at WKU* ESPN+ W 90-84
• Louisiana Tech earned the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 7 seed Middle Tennessee in the CUSA Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT inside VBC Propst Arena. Even though the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders have been in the same league for 12 years, this will mark the first time the two teams face off in a conference tournament. • LA Tech and Middle Tennessee just played in the regular season finale with the Bulldogs winning at home, 84-70. LA Tech led wire-to-wire, winning with defense (held the Blue Raiders to 37.7 percent shooting) and controlling the paint (+11 rebounding margin and +28 paint points). • The Bulldogs rank seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just 39.1 percent. They held eight CUSA opponents under 60 points while ranking 16th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 64.4 points per game. The team is 19-1 this season when holding teams under 70 and 17-2 when limiting teams to under 40 percent shooting. • Isaiah Crawford was named Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Offensively, he averaging 16.5 points while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Fort Worth, Texas native registered double-digit points in 26 of his 31 games including nine games of 20+ points. The forward was even more impressive during league play when he averaged 17.9 points, second best in CUSA. Defensively, he ranked top three in CUSA and top 50 in the country in both steals per game (2.13) and blocks per game (1.77). He has totaled 66 steals, which ranks fourth in program history, while also amassing 55 blocks. As a result, he is the only player in Division I basketball and just the third player in CUSA history to with 50+ blocks and 60+ steals in a single season. • Daniel Batcho was named CUSA Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-CUSA, and CUSA All-Defensive Team. The Texas Tech transfer has played a major part in the Bulldogs success, averaging 14.9 points, 9.8 rebounds (ranks 23rd in the country), and 2.4 blocks per game (ranks eighth in the country). He has posted a CUSA-leading 10 double-doubles while also leading the league in field goal percentage (58.0). He has scored in double figures in 23 of his 27 contests including five 20+ scoring efforts. • Fellow newcomer Tahlik Chavez was named Third Team All-CUSA. The shooting guard is averaging 13.8 points per game but upped that average to 16.1 points during league action, ranking fourth in CUSA scoring. He did most of his scoring damage from beyond the arc where he is shooting 40.8 percent, which ranks first in CUSA and 30th in the country. The Arlington, Texas native has made 78 three-pointers, which currently ranks as the sixth most in a single season in program history. • Sean Newman Jr. was the fourth Bulldog to receive postseason honors, earning Honorable Mention All-CUSA. The point guard is averaging 7.2 points per game with eight contests of double-digit points including a season-high 19 points at WKU. He has contributed the most with his passing, averaging 5.2 assists per game which ranks first in CUSA and 39th in the country. He has amassed a CUSA-best 141 assists with 18 games of at least five assists. • Dravon Mangum was one of five players announced to the 2023-24 Conference USA All-Academic Team. Mangum carries a 3.60 cumulative grade point average while pursuing his master’s degree in Counseling and Guidance. He became the first Bulldog since Mubarak Muhammed in 2020 to receive this academic honor. • Isaiah Crawford (511), Tahlik Chavez (415), and Daniel Batcho (401) each scored 19 points in the win
MARCH over Middle Tennessee in the final game of the regular season. They have combined to score 57.1 percent 7 SAM HOUSTON* CBS SN L 66-72 of LA Tech’s points this season. They became just the second Bulldog trio since 2015 to each record 400+ 9 MIDDLE TENNESSEE* ESPN+ W 84-70 points in a single season. 13 vs. Middle Tennessee$ ESPN+ 8 p.m.
A LA TECH WIN...
All home games CAPS | All times CST and subject to change * Conference USA game ^ LA Tech MTE $ Huntsville, Ala.
• Would advance the Bulldogs to the CUSA Tournament semifinals. Of the nine CUSA Tournaments played in, LA Tech has advanced to at least the semifinals five times. • Would give the Bulldogs their ninth win this season away from home. LA Tech went 8-7 overall on the road, having won six of its last seven. • Would improve the Bulldogs record to 12-9 in CUSA Tournament games. Of the nine CUSA Tournaments played in, LA Tech has won at least one game in eight of them.
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