Thursday, March 5th, 10:05 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Cowan Spectrum (7,000) -- Moscow, Idaho. Television: Altitude. Home Record: LaTech 9-4, Idaho 10-3. Away Record: LaTech 5-10, Idaho 4-11. Neutral Record: LaTech 0-2, Idaho 0-0. Conference Record: LaTech 6-9, Idaho 7-7. Series Record: Louisiana Tech leads, 6-1.

GAME NOTES: Already with twice as many wins in Western Athletic Conference play this season than last, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs try to add to that total tonight as they square off against the Idaho Vandals at the Cowan Spectrum in Moscow. Not only have the Bulldogs gone 6-9 in WAC action thus far, but the team is on a huge roll of late with four straight victories and wins in six of the last eight games overall. On Saturday, the squad from Ruston logged a 76-62 win versus Boise State at home in the Thomas Assembly Center. As for the Vandals, they too have played much better this season than in 2007-08, sporting a 7-7 league mark and an even 14-14 record overall. Like the Bulldogs, Idaho also landed in the win column over the weekend with a 71-68 triumph over Fresno State at the Save Mart Center. The win was the fourth in five tries for the group and now has Idaho in fifth place in the WAC standings as a result. The Vandals have been dominated by LaTech in the series, losing all but one of the seven meetings, that lone victory coming last season in an 85-78 decision in Moscow. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs captured a 74-63 win over the Vandals in Ruston.

The Bulldogs went from shooting a mere 40 percent from the field in the first half and 5-of-8 at the free-throw line to 56.5 percent from the field and 17- of-23 at the stripe after the break in picking up the double-digit win versus Boise State at home on Saturday. James Loe was responsible for a game-high 23 points, followed by Kyle Gibson with 21 points as he made good on 4-of-5 shots behind the three-point line. After 30 regular-season games Gibson leads the program in scoring with his 15.3 ppg, shooting 40.8 percent from three-point range and 43.6 percent from the floor while playing close to 36 minutes per night. Jamel Guyton chips in 12.4 ppg and Magnum Rolle another 12.0 ppg to go along with his team-best 7.3 rpg.

Leading by as many as 11 points in the second half at the Save Mart Center, the Vandals needed to hold on down the stretch in order to secure the three- point win. Mac Hopson posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists for the visitors while Marvin Jefferson had a double-double of his own with 13 points and a team-best 11 rebounds as well. Also scoring in double figures for Idaho were Trevor Morris and Luciano de Souza off the bench with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as the duo combined to shoot 7-of-14 behind the three- point line. Hopson has been doing it all for the Vandals this season, leading the group with 16.6 ppg and a staggering 163 assists, against just 86 turnovers. Hopson has been hitting his three-point tries at a 47.7 percent clip, pulls down five rebounds per game when he moves inside and has been credited with a team-best 50 steals.

The Vandals have certainly taken several steps in the right direction this season after being the team that the rest of the WAC beat up on the last few years. Playing in Moscow has also been a positive experience for Idaho and that should continue tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Idaho 69, Louisiana Tech 63