Behind the Matchups: Fun Facts and Notable Games

RUSTON — Every recreation tells a narrative, and this season’s non-conference slate is stuffed with them.

Whether it is Mike Green lighting up Memorial Gym in opposition to the rival Cajuns or the Bulldogs surprising top-seeded Nevada in a WAC Tournament thriller, these opponents have been a part of some unforgettable chapters in Louisiana Tech males’s basketball historical past. Before the ball suggestions this November, here is a glance again at some enjoyable details and notable video games that join the previous to the current.

NOV. 4 AT NEVADA

Fun Facts

• First-ever non-conference assembly between LA Tech and Nevada (all 15 earlier matchups got here as Western Athletic Conference opponents from 2001-12).
• Despite Nevada successful all six conferences from 2003-06, the battles between LA Tech’s Paul Millsap and Nevada’s Nick Fazekas have been legendary.
  • Millsap averaged 17.8 factors and 13.2 rebounds in these video games.
  • Fazekas countered with 20.0 factors and 11.2 rebounds.
  • Millsap edged Fazekas for 2004 WAC Freshman of the Year after posting 20-20 video games in each conferences versus the Wolfpack.

• Three of LA Tech’s six wins over Nevada have are available in Reno, together with back-to-back victories in 2002 and 2003 and a 2009 win that snapped a 12-game skid to the Wolfpack.

Notable Game – March 9, 2012: WAC Tournament Shock
Top-seeded Nevada entered the 2012 WAC semifinals as a heavy favourite, having eradicated LA Tech twice earlier than within the league match and successful 18 of the final 20 conferences. Up 71-69 with 2:53 left, it seemed like one other heartbreak for the Bulldogs. But LA Tech answered with a 7-0 run to stun the Wolfpack, 78-73, and advance to its first-ever WAC Tournament championship recreation. Trevor Gaskins scored a game-high 21 factors, adopted by WAC Freshman of the Year Raheem Appleby who had 17.
 
NOV. 19 AT INDIANA STATE / NOV. 26 VS. INDIANA STATE
Fun Facts

• This won’t be the primary time the 2 colleges play twice in the identical season – LA Tech and Indiana State additionally had a home-and-home in 1974-75 (Larry Bird was not but on the roster in case you have been questioning).
• LA Tech’s 1974 opener in Terre Haute marked its first-ever basketball recreation within the state of Indiana. Since then, the Bulldogs have solely performed in Indiana three extra instances (most just lately vs. Indiana in Bloomington in 2019).
• Hosting in-season multi-team occasions (MTEs) has turn into a development. LA Tech has hosted three since 2014 and stays unbeaten in house MTE video games (7-0), with the final sweep coming in 2023 in opposition to Southern Utah and McNeese State.

Notable Game – Jan. 27, 1975: Turning Point vs. Sycamores
After dropping 11 of their first 15 video games, the Bulldogs badly wanted momentum. Hosting Indiana State in a rematch, LA Tech clung to a 31–27 halftime lead earlier than the Sycamores surged forward 47–44 with a 12-2 run. The recreation stayed tight till the ultimate minute when Lanky Wells broke a 63-63 tie with a bucket, adopted by two Mike McConathy free throws that sealed the 67-63 win. It sparked a turnaround for the season because the Bulldogs gained eight of their final 10 contests.
 
DEC. 3 AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Fun Facts

• Only the second-ever recreation for LA Tech at Georgia Southern (5 whole conferences). The lone Statesboro matchup got here within the 1969-70 season opener.
• When LA Tech first performed within the state of Montana (1987 Champion Holiday Classic in Missoula), certainly one of its opponents was Georgia Southern – a 63-46 loss.
• In final yr’s 77-63 win in Ruston, Kaden Cooper (25 pts, 8 reb) and Daniel Batcho (22 pts, 8 reb) grew to become the primary Bulldog duo in at the very least 20 years to every submit 22+ factors and eight+ boards in the identical recreation.

Notable Game – Dec. 16, 1972: Mike Green’s Big Night
Hosting Georgia Southern for the primary time ever at Memorial Gym, LA Tech trailed late within the first half earlier than closing on a 13–2 run to take a forty five–38 lead. The Eagles minimize it to 1 with underneath three minutes left, however Hall of Famer Mike Green (31 pts, 13 reb) carried the Bulldogs to an 85-80 win. It was certainly one of his 16 video games that yr with 30+ factors and certainly one of his 25 double-doubles (out of 26 video games).
 
DEC. 13 VS. UL-LAFAYETTE
Fun Facts

• Longtime in-state rivalry dates again to 1926, with 170 whole conferences on file.
• The colleges have shared convention ties in six totally different leagues, most just lately the Sun Belt till LA Tech departed for the WAC in 2001. The rivalry will resume in-league when LA Tech rejoins the SBC.
• As non-conference foes, they’ve performed 18 instances – together with each season since 2013 in a rolling home-and-home sequence. The sequence has been lifeless even since then at 6-6.

Notable Game – Jan. 11, 1971: Top-10 Showdown in Ruston
No. 1-ranked Southwestern Louisiana got here to Ruston to face No. 8 LA Tech in entrance of 6,000 followers at Memorial Gym. Bulldog greats Mike Green and Jim Jenkins every scored 22, whereas the protection restricted Cajun star Dwight “Bo” Lamar to 10-of-32 taking pictures. LA Tech pulled out an exciting 103-94 victory in probably the most hyped video games in Louisiana basketball historical past, a win that catapulted the Bulldogs to a No. 1 rating.
 
DEC. 17 AT TULANE
Fun Facts

• LA Tech and Tulane have met 4 instances in three totally different places: New Orleans, Monroe, and Baton Rouge.
• In the 2004 Louisiana Classic performed within the state’s capital, Paul Millsap performed all 40 minutes and put up 25 factors, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a 69-66 win. (He was the final Bulldog to submit that stat line in a single recreation.)
• This matchup is a part of a home-and-home sequence. Tulane will make its first-ever journey to Ruston in 2026.

Notable Game – Jan. 16, 2014: Defensive Domination
For head coach Michael White, who grew up on Tulane’s campus, a highway win in New Orleans was additional particular. Behind scorching taking pictures from Jaron Johnson and Kenyon McNeail (14 pts every), LA Tech rolled 73-45 in a convention recreation inside Devlin Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs smothered Tulane defensively, holding the Green Wave to only 10 made discipline targets on 23.3% taking pictures – tied for the fewest makes by a LA Tech opponent within the final 25 years.