Who's Playing
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders @ La. Tech Bulldogs
Current Records: Middle Tennessee 14-5, La. Tech 14-6
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Thomas Assembly Center -- Ruston, Louisiana
- TV: ESPN University
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $7.00
What to Know
We've got another exciting Conference USA matchup on schedule as the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the La. Tech Bulldogs are set to tip at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Thomas Assembly Center. The Blue Raiders are coming into the match hot, having won their last four games.
Last Thursday, Middle Tennessee sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 77-75 win over Sam Houston. Having forecasted a close victory for the Blue Raiders, the oddsmakers were right on the money.
Middle Tennessee can attribute much of their success to Jestin Porter, who went 8 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 28 points. The dominant performance gave Porter a new career-high in threes. The team also got some help courtesy of Essam Mostafa, who almost dropped a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for La. Tech, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Saturday. They walked away with a 77-67 win over Western Kentucky on Thursday.
La. Tech's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Daniel Batcho, who went 5 for 7 en route to 18 points. Jordan Crawford was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds.
Middle Tennessee is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. As for La. Tech, they pushed their record up to 14-6 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Middle Tennessee has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39 rebounds per game. However, it's not like La. Tech struggles in that department as they've been averaging 37.2. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Middle Tennessee is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. Those interested in the spread don't face an easy decision since they are 11-5-2 and La. Tech is 3-4.
Odds
La. Tech is a 3.5-point favorite against Middle Tennessee, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 3.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 142.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Middle Tennessee has won 6 out of their last 10 games against La. Tech.
- Mar 13, 2024 - Middle Tennessee 70 vs. La. Tech 67
- Mar 09, 2024 - La. Tech 84 vs. Middle Tennessee 70
- Jan 11, 2024 - La. Tech 60 vs. Middle Tennessee 52
- Feb 25, 2023 - Middle Tennessee 63 vs. La. Tech 49
- Jan 21, 2023 - Middle Tennessee 68 vs. La. Tech 51
- Jan 23, 2020 - La. Tech 80 vs. Middle Tennessee 73
- Jan 12, 2019 - La. Tech 73 vs. Middle Tennessee 56
- Feb 17, 2018 - Middle Tennessee 87 vs. La. Tech 70
- Jan 11, 2018 - Middle Tennessee 72 vs. La. Tech 57
- Jan 28, 2017 - Middle Tennessee 71 vs. La. Tech 61