LOUISIANA TECH 2022-23 BULLDOG BASKETBALL GAME 32 MATCHUP
GAMEDAY INFO DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 8 | 8 p.m. CT LOCATION: Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas) SERIES HISTORY: LA Tech leads, 10-8 STREAK: LA Tech, 1 LAST MEETING: LA Tech 77, FIU 76OT March 4, 2023 | Ruston, La. MEDIA: ESPN+ TALENT: Ron Thulin (pxp), Colin Boddicker (analyst) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app TALENT: Malcolm Butler (pxp), Jack Thigpen (analyst) STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
2022-23 SCHEDULE
Head Coach: Talvin Hester Record at LA Tech: 14-17 (1st year) Career Record: Same Record vs. FIU: 1-1
VS fiu panthers (14-17)
Head Coach: Jeremy Ballard Record at FIU: 77-78 (5th year) Career Record: Same Record vs. LA Tech: 3-4
BULLDOG STORYLINES
Overall: 14-17 | C-USA: 7-13 | H: 9-6 | A: 4-11 | N: 1-0 NOVEMBER MEDIA 7 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE CUSA.tv 14 at (#23) Texas Tech ESPN+ 17 at UL-Lafayette ESPN+ 21 ULM CUSA.tv 23 at Alabama A&M^ YouTube 25 at Samford^ ESPN+ 26 vs. Tennessee-Southern^ ----
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (14-17)
W/L W L L W W W W
SCORE 78-61 55-64 88-94 79-58 80-75 79-76 91-47
DECEMBER 2 SOUTHERN ESPN+ W 74-59 10 at Wyoming MWN L 65-92 14 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN ESPNU L 79-80OT 17 at UTEP* CUSA.tv L 55-60 21 JARVIS CHRISTIAN CUSA.tv W 108-52 29 UTSA* ESPN+ W 91-69 31 at Charlotte* ESPN+ L 66-68
• Louisiana Tech opens up the 2023 Conference USA Basketball Championship on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT versus FIU at the Ford Center at The Star. Despite this being the 10th season the Bulldogs and Panthers have been league foes in C-USA, this will be the first time the two teams face off in the league tournament. • LA Tech went toe-to-toe, again, with the best team in C-USA, and came up just short in falling, 76-72, to Florida Atlantic to end the regular season this past Saturday in Ruston. It was another near miss of upsetting the Owls (lost to them in overtime in Boca Raton) who have only lost three games all season. The Bulldogs actually led for almost 40 minutes in their two contests and led for more time than the Owls. • Isaiah Crawford came back from a season-ending knee injury to earn Third Team All-Conference USA honors in 2021. The forward did the same thing in 2023, returning from another season-ending knee injury to be voted Third Team All-Conference. He poured in a game-high 20 points in the regular season finale against Florida Atlantic (averaged 22.5 points per game against the regular season champion Owls).
• Keaston Willis was named All-Conference USA Honorable Mention, becoming the 10th different Bulldogs to earn C-USA postseason honors since the program joined the JANUARY league back in 2013-14. Also, Jordan Crawford was named to the C-USA All-Freshman 5 at Rice* ESPN+ W 88-82OT Team. LA Tech leads the league in most All-Freshman Team members over the last 10 7 UTEP* CUSA.tv W 60-58 years (Crawford became the sixth Bulldog). It is the third straight year LA Tech has had a 11 at North Texas* ESPN+ L 65-67 player on the C-USA All-Freshman Team. 14 UAB* 19 WKU* 21 MIDDLE TENNESSEE* 26 at UAB* 28 at UTSA*
Stadium CBS SN ESPN+ CBS SN ESPN+
L W L L W
74-81 85-74OT 51-68 59-65 66-55
FEBRUARY 2 RICE* ESPN+ W 80-72 9 at FIU* ESPN+ L 62-66 11 at (RV) Florida Atlantic* ESPN+ L 85-90OT 16 NORTH TEXAS* ESPN+ L 62-72 18 CHARLOTTE* ESPN+ L 67-74 23 at WKU* CBS SN L 66-76 25 at Middle Tennessee* Stadium L 49-63
• Two-time All-Conference USA selection Isaiah Crawford has been stellar as of late. Over the last 11 games, He is averaging 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. He is also shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc during this span. • Jordan Crawford was named C-USA Freshman of the Week for his performance in the final week of the regular season. The All-Freshman Team selection picked up his third weekly award after averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds against FIU and Florida Atlantic. He tallied 14 points apiece in the two games and then registered a career-high eight rebounds versus the Owls.
• LA Tech has been in close game after close game after close game. In fact, 21 of their 31 games this season have been decided by 10 points or less (the most since the 2011MARCH 12 season). Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they are a combined 7-14 in those games. 2 FIU* ESPN+ W 4 (RV) FLORIDA ATLANTIC* ESPN+ L 8 vs. FIU$ ESPN+
77-76OT 72-76 8 p.m.
All home games CAPS | All times CST and subject to change * C-USA game ^ Samford MTE $ Frisco, Texas (The Star)
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• Two of those close games has been against FIU. The two teams faced off last Thursday in Ruston with the Bulldogs coming out on top, 77-76, in overtime. LA Tech overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half, tying for the fifth largest comeback in the last 50 years. It was also the fifth OT game played by LA Tech this season, the most in program history. The other matchup came down in Miami about a month ago with the Panthers eeking out a 66-62 win. Each of the last five meetings between the two teams has been decided by four points or less.
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