Who’s Playing
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers @ La. Tech Bulldogs
Current Records: Western Kentucky 15-7, La. Tech 16-6
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Thomas Assembly Center — Ruston, Louisiana
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
What to Know
Western Kentucky has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the La. Tech Bulldogs will face off in a Conference USA battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Thomas Assembly Center. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Western Kentucky was handed a two-point loss in their last game, but they sure didn’t let that happen against the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Everything went the Hilltoppers’ way against the Blue Raiders as the Hilltoppers made off with a 88-65 win. The score was all tied up 38-38 at the break, but Western Kentucky was the better team in the second half.
Meanwhile, La. Tech came tearing into Thursday’s game with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.6 points) and they left with even more momentum. They put a hurting on the Panthers on the road to the tune of 93-53. With La. Tech ahead 59-26 at the half, the match was all but over already.
La. Tech got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Daniel Batcho out in front who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 rebounds. Batcho continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he’s played. Tahlik Chavez was another key contributor, going 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points and 0 assists.
The Hilltoppers’ win bumped their record up to 15-7. As for the Bulldogs, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Western Kentucky hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 80.7 points per game. However, it’s not like La. Tech struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 76.2 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Western Kentucky beat the Bulldogs 76-66 in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Western Kentucky since the team won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Series History
La. Tech has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Western Kentucky.
- Feb 23, 2023 – Western Kentucky 76 vs. La. Tech 66
- Jan 19, 2023 – La. Tech 85 vs. Western Kentucky 74
- Mar 10, 2022 – La. Tech 59 vs. Western Kentucky 57
- Jan 01, 2022 – La. Tech 74 vs. Western Kentucky 73
- Mar 25, 2021 – La. Tech 72 vs. Western Kentucky 65
- Jan 09, 2021 – La. Tech 63 vs. Western Kentucky 58
- Jan 08, 2021 – Western Kentucky 66 vs. La. Tech 64
- Feb 27, 2020 – Western Kentucky 95 vs. La. Tech 91
- Feb 06, 2020 – Western Kentucky 65 vs. La. Tech 54
- Jan 26, 2019 – La. Tech 62 vs. Western Kentucky 50
