Bates leads Louisiana Tech against Missouri State after 21-point game

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-10, 6-6 CUSA) at Missouri State Bears (13-10, 7-5 CUSA)

Springfield, Missouri; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Louisiana Tech faces Missouri State after AJ Bates scored 21 points in Louisiana Tech's 87-78 win against the Sam Houston Bearkats.

The Bears have gone 10-3 at home. Missouri State has a 1-3 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Bulldogs are 6-6 in CUSA play. Louisiana Tech has a 5-7 record against teams over .500.

Missouri State averages 75.3 points, 12.0 more per game than the 63.3 Louisiana Tech gives up. Louisiana Tech averages 5.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 6.8 per game Missouri State allows.

The Bears and Bulldogs meet Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Keith Palek III is shooting 43.2% and averaging 18.2 points for the Bears. Kobi Williams is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Bates is averaging 10.9 points and 5.5 assists for the Bulldogs. DJ Dudley is averaging 16.2 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bears: 5-5, averaging 77.4 points, 29.3 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 7.4 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.8 points per game.

Bulldogs: 5-5, averaging 67.4 points, 34.5 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 41.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.