GAME NOTES: The Florida Atlantic Owls have a mountain to climb to end a five- game losing streak, as they get set to face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a Conference USA clash at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Florida Atlantic has dropped five straight games, with a 74-59 thrashing at the hands of Texas-San Antonio sticking out on Saturday as the most recent. The loss dropped the team to 1-9 in Conference USA play this season. The Owls are just 2-9 away from home as well.

Last Thursday, Louisiana Tech took on UAB and dropped a 20-point contest to the Blazers resulting in the team's second conference loss. But the 'Dogs rebounded Saturday with a 73-62 victory over Middle Tennessee to improve to 9-2 against league competition. The Bulldogs have won 24 consecutive home games - the sixth-longest streak in the country - and have won 23 straight home conference games, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak.

These two programs have only met once on the basketball court before - last season early in January. Louisiana Tech came away with a commanding 84-64 victory over FAU to take control of the new conference rivalry.

Florida Atlantic hung tough with UTSA on Saturday in the last outing for the Owls. FAU went into halftime down by two points, but it was the Roadrunners who opened things up in the second frame to pile 13 more points onto their lead. It was a rough offensive outing for the Owls, who connected on just 32.3 percent of their shots in the game, including 10-of-37 from 3-point distance. Marquan Botley netted 19 points to pace the team, while Jackson Trapp added 13 points and Solomon Poole added 10 with four rebounds. On the plus side, the Owls held UTSA to just 1-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.

Poole has helped the Owls since his return after missing a major portion of the early season. In 14 games played, Poole has netted 13.8 ppg which leads the team. He's trailed by Botley's 13.1 ppg mark and Trapp's 11.2 ppg. Trapp also missed time due to injury, but it wasn't extensive. Botley leads the team with 76 assists on the season, and Justin Raffington tops the squad with 7.4 rpg, although he's only played in 13 contests. FAU is netting just 62.8 ppg this season, but hasn't had everyone healthy until now. The Owls will need to step it up defensively, as they allow 65.0 ppg to opponents on 44 percent shooting.

Louisiana Tech got back to form quickly after a brutal loss last week. The Bulldogs looked like their selves offensively against Middle Tennessee, netting 50 percent of their shot attempts from the floor with a 6-of-20 mark from 3-point range. Xavian Stapleton came off the bench to net a team-high 18 points, while Alex Hamilton chipped in 16 points with five assists. Raheem Appleby added 15 points, and Michale Kyser tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Louisiana Tech's offense has proven to be a well-oiled machine this season, led by Appleby's team-best 16.4 ppg, and field general Kenneth Smith's 186 assists (he leads the conference with 7.8 apg). Hamilton (15.8 ppg) and Erik McCree (12.0 ppg) round out a trio of double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs this season, smoothing out a Bulldogs offense that generates a league-leading 73.6 ppg. The team's defense has been strong as well, allowing opponents to score just 65.0 ppg on 42 percent shooting. Kyser leads the team on the glass headed into Thursday's matchup, pulling down 6.4 boards per outing.

Florida Atlantic will have to generate a ton of offense on the road if it wants a shot at taking down Louisiana Tech. The Owls just won't be able to keep pace, unless there's a total Bulldog breakdown.