RUSTON – After spending the week in Florida at the Gulf Coast Showcase, Louisiana Tech is back home inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday to take on Southern.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 30 | 10:30 a.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics App
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (7-0)
LA Tech was the “unofficial” champion of the Gulf Coast Showcase after being the only team to go unbeaten with victories over Southern Illinois, Richmond, and Eastern Kentucky. The Bulldogs were down at least eight points in the second half of all three games before staging three comeback wins, capped off by a 78-69 victory over EKU on Wednesday.
LA Tech is 4-0 this season when trailing by at least eight points in a game. The ‘Dogs are also own the second longest active winning streak in the country, having won their first seven games of the season.
Daniel Batcho led the Bulldogs in scoring at the Gulf Coast Showcase, averaging 16.0 points. His best game came in the final contest versus EKU, going 8-of-10 from the field for a team-high 19 points. The redshirt senior is currently averaging 19.9 points per game while shooting 75.0 percent from the field, the fifth-best shooting percentage in the country.
Kaden Cooper averaged a double-double at the multi-team event with 14.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He led LA Tech in rebounding in all three games (six total this season), including a career-high 12 against Southern Illinois. He currently anchors the team at 8.7 boards per game, which ranks 46th in the country. It is also the largest rebounding average of any player under 6-foot-6.
Amaree Abram has scored in double figures in all seven games this season, averaging 14.7 points at the Gulf Coast Showcase. He scored all 14 of his points against EKU in the second half while also pulling down a career-high eight boards. He went a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line, increasing his free three percentage to 94.4. He has also registered at least one steal in all seven games, averaging a team-best 2.71 steals per game (ranks 20th in the country). He had a career-high six steals in the Gulf Coast Showcase opener versus Southern Illinois.
Sean Newman Jr. continues to be one of the top passers in college basketball. He has 62 total on the season for an average of 8.9 dimes per game, both ranking second in the nation. The redshirt junior reached 200 career assists as a Bulldog versus Richmond, tying for the fastest to 200 ever at LA Tech (needed just 34 games to do it).
ABOUT SOUTHERN (2-4)
Southern went 18-14 last season, including marquee victories over Mississippi State and UNLV. The Jaguars ended up tying for third in the SWAC with a 12-6 league mark. Third is exactly where they are projected to finish in 2024-25 in the SWAC preseason poll behind Grambling State and Texas Southern.
The Jaguars have dominated their two home games, blowing out Ecclesia College (131-42) and Champion Christian College (121-58). Southern is still looking for its first road win though, having lost all four to South Dakota, Iowa, East Texas A&M, and Texas A&M. The Jags were up 14 at halftime against the No. 23-ranked Aggies but ended up falling by a final score of 71-54 in College Station.
The remainder of their non-conference schedule includes more road games against Tulsa, No. 23 Ole Miss, Loyola Marymount, Southern Cal, and Nebraska.
Southern gets its scoring from many different Jaguars as their top scorer Tidjiane Dioumassi is only averaging 10.5 points per contest, highlighted by a 30-point performance at South Dakota in the season opener.
The Jags, who have had a different player lead them in scoring in all six games, currently rank second in the country in bench points per game (48.50).
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series against Southern, 6-2. The Bulldogs have won four straight in the series and are a perfect 5-0 versus the Jaguars in Ruston. The last meeting came in 2022 when LA Tech prevailed, 74-59.
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