Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech tips off its 13th season in Conference USA on Monday when the Bulldogs host the UTEP Miners tonight inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN+ with Malcolm Butler (PxP), Dickie Crawford (Analyst), and Madison Kaufman (sideline) providing a call of the action.
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus UTEP, 21-15. The Bulldogs own a 14-7 advantage since the two became CUSA foes, having won four of the last five including the last meeting which resulted in a 76-58 win for LA Tech in the final game of the regular season last year. The Bulldogs are 13-2 all-time versus the Miners in Ruston (8-1 in CUSA contests).
The Bulldogs (7-4, 0-0) closed out non-conference play dominating Dallas Christian 90-37. The No. 1-ranked scoring defense in the country showed its grit again as LA Tech held Dallas Christian to 37 points on 23.6 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent shooting from three. The Bulldogs are allowing just 55.5 points per game, having held eight of their 11 opponents to less than 62 points.
The team also ranks No. 1 in the nation in field goal percentage defense (34.9) and No. 2 in three-point percentage defense (24.3). They have held eight foes to under 40 percent shooting and every team to under 31 percent shooting from deep.
Kaden Cooper registered his third double-double of the season and the sixth of his Bulldog career, scoring a season-high 24 points to go along with 13 boards against Dallas Christian. He also recorded a career-high four assists. Since being reinserted into the starting lineup over the last four games, the junior guard is averaging 15.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the field. He currently paces the team in total rebounds, steals, and blocks.
UTEP (4-7, 0-0) put an end to its five-game losing streak with a 76-66 home victory over North Dakota State in its annual Sun Bowl Invitational. The Miners were quite the travelers in non-conference, playing road games in Utah, Washington, and Hawaii as well a multi-team event in Florida. They are still looking for their first win away from El Paso, currently owning an 0-5 record.
UTEP will be playing in its final season in Conference USA as the Miners are set to join the Mountain West Conference following the 2025-26 season. They have been members of CUSA since 2005, the longest of any current institution.
One thing that has been consistent under head coach Joe Golding, now in his fifth year at UTEP, has been a suffocating defense. The Miners rank second in CUSA and top 40 in the country in both steals per game (9.4) and turnovers forced per game (15.55).
