Bulldogs seek third straight win
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech and Charlotte, both tied for third in the league standings, face off against one another on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
Louisiana Tech (15-5, 6-2 C-USA) pulled off a road sweep this past week,
first winning at Middle Tennessee and then following that up with an impressive 72-58 win at UAB.
It was only the Bulldogs' second win ever at Bartow Arena in Birmingham and the first time the team has swept the Middle Tennessee-UAB road series.
They did so by playing stellar defense, holding both opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field. Louisiana Tech currently ranks first in C-USA and 20th in the country in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot on average just 38.3 percent.
A different Bulldog stepped up each night. Against the Blue Raiders, it was Mubarak Muhammed who registered a career-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Against the Blazers, it was Kalob Ledoux who came off the bench to notch a game-high 17 points while making four 3-pointers.
Ledoux has made the most 3-pointers on the team (39) and is second in scoring average at 12.4 points per contest.
Muhammed continues to pace the team in rebounding, averaging 9.4 boards per game which ranks second in the league.
Louisiana Tech is 9-1 at home this season and looks to get back into the win column at home after suffering a 51-50 loss to North Texas in its last home game.
Charlotte (12-7, 6-2 C-USA) enters Thursday having also won both conference matchups this past week, taking down Florida Atlantic and Florida International at home.
Only eight games into league play, the 49ers have already surpassed their conference win total from a season ago under second-year head coach Ron Sanchez.
The 49ers also have a strong defense, allowing only 62.4 points per game which ranks third in the league behind only Louisiana Tech and North Texas.
They have held three league opponents to under 50 points, including a high-powered Florida International team that only scored 49 this past Saturday.
They have nine newcomers on this year's roster, including Jahmir Young who is averaging 12.7 points per game.
The guard has won C-USA Freshman of the Week honors five times this season.
The team's other offensive threat is Jordan Shepherd, a transfer from Oklahoma, who is averaging 14.4 points. Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series over Charlotte 6-1. The Bulldogs won the first six meetings, but the 49ers dominated in the meeting last season in Charlotte, winning 55-40.