by Malcolm Butler
AJ Bates is playing his best basketball at the right time.
And so are his Louisiana Tech Bulldog teammates.
Bates scored 29 points, DJ Dudley added 16 and Avery Thomas 15 as the No. 4 seed Bulldogs led from coast-to-coast Thursday night in defeating No. 5 seed Middle Tennessee 80-69 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Conference USA Championships inside VBC Propst Arena.
Bates, who scored a career-high one week ago in a road win over Liberty, also added six assists and a career-high six steals while playing all 40 minutes.
It’s no coincidence that during this run by Bates, the Bulldogs have also won three straight road or neutral site games. Tech was 2-10 away from the friendly confines of the Thomas Assembly Center prior to the three wins over the last eight days.
“It comes from work,” said Bates. “Every day in practice, coach challenges us to be the best version of ourselves. We have had trouble not giving our full effort. We trusted each other. Our defense communicated well, rotated well. We had some lapses where we got lost, but we trusted each other.”
There weren’t too many lapses.
Tech, which split the two regular season games against Middle Tennessee — including an 88-51 loss at Murfreesboro on January, has peaked at the right time, and is now only two wins away from snapping a NCAA Tournament drought of more than 30 years.
The Bulldogs 59-58 win over the Blue Raiders on January 14 in Ruston included rallying from a 20-point first half deficit. Tech head coach Talvin Hester said his team is in a completely different place two months later.
“We were a different team back in January when we last played Middle Tennessee,” said Hester. “We were still searching for our identity. We were not as good defensively. When we came back from that 20-point deficit, from then on, we changed. We made a commitment to the defensive end of the floor.”
On Thursday night, Bates and Co. beat the Blue Raiders at their own game: three-point shooting.
Middle Tennessee hit a program record 22 three-pointers against LA Tech in the 37-point win at home in early January. Tech, on the other hand, was just 5-of-30 from beyond the arc in those two match-ups.
Not this time.
The Bulldogs hit 9-of-16 three-pointers, including three each by Bates and Thomas and two more from Dudley, while Middle Tennessee hit 10 on 27 tries. Tech hit 7-of-10 in the opening 20 minutes in building a 38-24 halftime lead.
And although Middle Tennessee closed the deficit to 56-52 with eight minutes to play, the Bulldogs had an answer.
“Attitude and effort,” said Thomas. “Coach preaches it every day. If our attitudes are right and we play as a team, even when Middle Tennessee went on a run, we stuck together. We kept playing hard.”
Kaden Cooper, who electrified the crowd in the first half with a spectacular dunk, scored five straight points, including a three-pointer, and Will Allen added a bucket to help the Bulldogs push the lead back out to 63-53 with 5 minutes to play.
Middle Tennessee would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
“I am proud of this team,” said Hester. “We talked about way back in July to prepare ourselves to play our best basketball in February and March. There are very few times that I have coached that I have seen a team progressing month after month to play their best basketball now.
“We have done it through ups and downs. Our guys stuck together. Sometimes you get to March, and players really do not want to be there. This team was excited to play in this game. I think that played a part in the outcome. We are playing some good basketball right now.”
During Tech’s three-game winning streak — it’s longest of the season — the Bulldogs have never trailed at any point in any of the games.
The Bulldogs advance to their first semifinal appearance since 2022 and will face No. 9 seed Missouri State Friday at 11:30 a.m. The Bears upset regular season champion Liberty on Wednesday.
