Cooper and Louisiana Tech host UTEP

By Canadian Press on December 29, 2025.

UTEP Miners (4-7) at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-4)

Ruston, Louisiana; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Louisiana Tech faces UTEP after Kaden Cooper scored 24 points in Louisiana Tech’s 90-37 win against the Dallas Christian Crusaders.

The Bulldogs have gone 7-0 at home. Louisiana Tech is the leader in the CUSA at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 55.5 points while holding opponents to 34.9% shooting.

The Miners are 0-3 on the road. UTEP is fifth in the CUSA giving up 71.2 points while holding opponents to 44.6% shooting.

Louisiana Tech averages 71.5 points per game, 0.3 more points than the 71.2 UTEP allows. UTEP has shot at a 44.8% rate from the field this season, 9.9 percentage points greater than the 34.9% shooting opponents of Louisiana Tech have averaged.

The Bulldogs and Miners match up Monday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: AJ Bates is scoring 12.3 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists for the Bulldogs. Cooper is averaging 12.2 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 53.8% over the last 10 games.

Jamal West is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Miners. Caleb Blackwell is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bulldogs: 7-3, averaging 73.6 points, 41.0 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 53.3 points per game.

Miners: 3-7, averaging 69.8 points, 29.1 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 9.1 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.7 points.

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

The Associated Press

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