Liberty Flames (11-6) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (11-6)
January 14, 2024 3:00 pm EDT
The Line: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs -3; Over/Under: +131.5
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The Liberty Flames and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet Sunday in college basketball action from Thomas Assembly Center. Liberty comes into this matchup at 11-6 on the year after a loss to Jacksonville State. As for Louisiana Tech, they beat Middle Tennessee in their last game which improved the Raiders to 11-6 overall as well. Let’s get into our Liberty vs. Louisiana Tech prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Liberty Flames
The Flames managed wins in 10 of their first 13 games, taking out Mid-Atlantic Christian, Charlotte, Furman, Wichita State, Vermont, MD-Eastern Shore, MS Valley State, Tennessee State, St. Andrews and Utah Valley. It’s been a 1-3 run since though, with losses to Alabama, Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State.
In the Jacksonville State game back on Wednesday, the Flames went into the second half with a 26-21 deficit. Liberty was outscored 35-30 from there and ended up losing 61-51. Tops in scoring was Kaden Metheny with 15 points and two rebounds during the defeat.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Over on the Bulldogs’ side, they posted a nice 9-2 run in their first 11 games with losses to only Colorado State and New Mexico. Louisiana Tech has been on a 2-4 stretch since then however, falling to Saint Louis, Seattle U, Grand Canyon and Sam Houston in that time.
Matched up against Middle Tennessee on Thursday, the Bulldogs were ahead by a slim margin 25-24 going into the break. Louisiana Tech hit a 35-28 run from there though, eventually taking the win 60-52. Leading the way was Daniel Batcho with 16 points and 13 rebounds alongside three blocks.
ANDREW’S FREE LIBERTY VS LOUISIANA TECH PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs haven’t played all that well lately though, and they’re coming off a tepid outing versus Middle Tennessee. LA Tech shot just 36.5 percent from the floor in that one and got outmuscled on the boards 35-33. Louisiana Tech had hit 70 or more points in seven straight games prior to that however, so if they can hit that mark on Sunday the Bulldogs should be fine.
As for Liberty, they’ve been at 68 points or below in three of the last four games (all three were losses). The Flames have a good shot here if they can get the offense going, but ultimately I think it’s Louisiana Tech’s cover to take. Should be a fun matchup to watch, though.
