ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball (1-0) hosts Conference USA foe Louisiana Tech (1-0) for its Homecoming game on Saturday at 5 p.m. as part of an exciting day at the College Park Center, with first-place volleyball's 11 a.m. match against Utah Valley also taking place.
"They're a really, really good team, and are very well-coached," head coach
KT Turner said during his press conference on Friday. "They have great pieces, they have great transfers and [Daniel] Batcho is really, really good, so it's going to be a tough test for us and we're looking forward to the opportunity to play against a really good team. It's kind of like playing against Grand Canyon in my mind – it's getting us prepared for games like that later down the line."
The Mavs knocked off UNT Dallas 90-55 in their season-opener, while LA Tech dispatched of LSU Alexandria 77-50 on Monday night.
UTA and LA Tech will meet for the 35th time in program history, and the Mavericks are on the hunt for their first win in the series since 2011. The Bulldogs have won each of the last four meetings, and 12 of the last 13 dating back to 1983. This is, however the first meeting between the two programs since Nov. 27, 2020, when LA Tech held on for a 76-71 win in Ruston. This is the first meeting in Arlington since 2013, a 55-52 win by the Bulldogs.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play) and Ty Ellis (analyst) on the call, while Josh Sours returns as the radio voice of the Mavericks.
LA Tech had five players finish in double figures in its win on Monday night over LSU Alexandria, led by Oklahoma transfer Kaden Cooper's 17. The Bulldogs led 30-26 at the break and pulled away in the second half, outscoring LSU Alexandria 47-24.
LA Tech head coach Talvin Hester is in year three in Ruston and led the Bulldogs to a 22-10 mark (12-4 in CUSA) last season.
The Mavs saw four players hit double figures in its win over UNT Dallas, and two more score nine points apiece, paced by guard
Jaden Wells (22 points) and
Raysean Seamster (19 points, five rebounds, five assists on 8-of-8 shooting).
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