Halftime Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, La. Tech looks much better today on their home court. They have jumped out to a quick 33-28 lead against Western Kentucky.
If La. Tech keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 14-6 in no time. On the other hand, Western Kentucky will have to make due with an 11-8 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers @ La. Tech Bulldogs
Current Records: Western Kentucky 11-7, La. Tech 13-6
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Thomas Assembly Center — Ruston, Louisiana
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Watch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV
- Live Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $6.00
What to Know
After two games on the road, La. Tech is heading back home. They and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will face off in a Conference USA battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Thomas Assembly Center. The Bulldogs are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 76.4 points per game this season.
The experts predicted La. Tech would be headed in after a victory, but Kennesaw State made sure that didn’t happen. La. Tech fell just short of Kennesaw State by a score of 78-76 on Saturday. That’s two games in a row now that the Bulldogs have lost by exactly two points.
Daniel Batcho put forth a good effort for the losing side as he went 7 for 13 en route to 23 points plus seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Devin Ree, who scored 14 points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, La. Tech smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. This was only their first loss (out of four games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, after soaring to 85 points the game before, Western Kentucky faltered in their match on Saturday. They fell 71-57 to Middle Tennessee. The contest marked the Hilltoppers’ lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.
La. Tech’s defeat was their fourth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 13-6. As for Western Kentucky, they have been struggling recently as they’ve lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-7 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: La. Tech has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 37 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Western Kentucky struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 37.7. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
As for their next game, La. Tech is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by six points. For those looking to play the spread, keep La. Tech in mind: they have a solid 11-5 record against the spread this season.
Odds
La. Tech is a solid 6-point favorite against Western Kentucky, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bulldogs as a 5.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 148 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
La. Tech has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Western Kentucky.
- Feb 28, 2024 – La. Tech 90 vs. Western Kentucky 84
- Feb 07, 2024 – Western Kentucky 81 vs. La. Tech 76
- 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
