2017–18 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

2017–18 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division champions
New Orleans Shootout champions
ConferenceConference USA
Record17–16 (7–11 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThomas Assembly Center
Seasons
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 16 2   .889 25 8   .758
Old Dominion 15 3   .833 25 7   .781
Western Kentucky 14 4   .778 27 11   .711
Marshall 12 6   .667 25 11   .694
UTSA 11 7   .611 20 15   .571
UAB 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
North Texas 8 10   .444 20 18   .526
FIU 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
Southern Miss 7 11   .389 16 18   .471
Louisiana Tech 7 11   .389 17 16   .515
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
UTEP 6 12   .333 11 20   .355
Rice 4 14   .222 7 24   .226
Charlotte 2 16   .111 6 23   .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2017–18 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Eric Konkol, played their home games at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 17–16, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for ninth place. As the No. 10 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated North Texas before losing to Old Dominion in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2016–17 season 23–10, 14–4 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They beat UAB in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament before losing to Marshall in the semifinals. Despite finishing with 23 wins, the school declined to participate in a postseason tournament marking the first time since 2013 that they did not participate in a postseason tournament.[1]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Erik McCree 2 F 6'8" 225 RS Senior Orlando, FL Graduated
Da'Shawn Robinson 23 G 6'4" 210 Senior Houston, TX Graduate transferred to Lamar
Omar Sherman 24 F 6'9" 255 Junior Duncanville, TX Transferred to William Penn
Qiydar Davis 25 G 6'6" 220 RS Senior Atlanta, GA Graduate transferred to Indiana State
Luke Walker 30 G 6'2" 185 Sophomore New Orleans, LA Walk-on; graduate transferred to William Jessup

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Harrison Curry 24 F 6'7" 230 Junior Ann Arbor, MI Junior college transferred from Pensacola State College
Kyle McKinley 25 F/C 6'10" 220 RS Sophomore Stillwater, MN Junior college transferred from Northeast CC

Recruiting class of 2017

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Anthony Duruji
#80 PF
Potomac, MD St. Andrews Episcopal School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 17, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Exavian Christon
SG
Hot Springs, AR Hot Springs High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 21, 2016 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Amorie Archibald
SG
Deltona, FL Trinity Christian Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sep 30, 2016 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 15, 2017.

Roster

2017–18 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jacobi Boykins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Lakewood High School St. Petersburg, Florida
G 1 Derric Jean 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr McArthur High School Miami, Florida
G 3 Jalen Harris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Duncanville High School Duncanville, Texas
G 4 DaQuan Bracey 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) So St. Frances Academy Baltimore, Maryland
C 5 Joniah White 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Grenada High School Duck Hill, Mississippi
F 10 Anthony Duruji 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr St. Andrew's Episcopal School Germantown, Maryland
G 11 JaColby Pemberton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Lancaster High School Dallas, Texas
G 15 Jeremiah Taylor (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Lewisville High School Lewisville, Texas
G 21 Exavian Christon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Fr Hot Springs High School Hot Springs, Arkansas
F 22 Jy'lan Washington 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Stewarts Creek High School Smyrna, Tennessee
F 24 Harrison Curry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Pensacola State College Ann Arbor, Michigan
C 25 Kyle McKinley 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS So Northeast Community College Stillwater, Minnesota
F 35 Oliver Powell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Rowlett High School Rowlett, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
6:30 pm
UT Tyler W 112–71  1–0
Thomas Assembly Center (3,271)
Ruston, LA
Nov 13, 2017*
6:30 pm
Southeast Missouri State
Cancún Challenge
W 96–95 OT 2–0
Thomas Assembly Center (2,456)
Ruston, LA
Nov 18, 2017*
7:00 pm
Montana State
Cancún Challenge
W 71–58  3–0
Thomas Assembly Center (2,378)
Ruston, LA
Nov 21, 2017*
5:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. George Mason
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division semifinals
W 77–64  4–0
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Convention Center (842)
Cancún, Mexico
Nov 22, 2017*
7:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Evansville
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division championship
W 63–61  5–0
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Convention Center (982)
Cancún, Mexico
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, SECN+
at No. 24 Alabama L 74–77  5–1
Coleman Coliseum (12,062)
Tuscaloosa, AL
Dec 2, 2017*
6:00 pm
Miles W 106–55  6–1
Thomas Assembly Center (2,665)
Ruston, LA
Dec 6, 2017*
6:30 pm
Stephen F. Austin L 83–85  6–2
Thomas Assembly Center (3,041)
Ruston, LA
Dec 9, 2017*
6:00 pm
Jackson State W 91–62  7–2
Thomas Assembly Center (2,668)
Ruston, LA
Dec 12, 2017*
6:30 pm
Louisiana L 71–75  7–3
Thomas Assembly Center (3,438)
Ruston, LA
Dec 16, 2017*
1:00 pm, LHN
at Texas L 60–75  7–4
Frank Erwin Center (8,828)
Austin, TX
Dec 21, 2017*
2:30 pm
vs. Alabama State
New Orleans Shootout semifinals
W 74–62  8–4
Convocation Center (300)
New Orleans, LA
Dec 22, 2017*
2:30 pm
vs. Fort Wayne
New Orleans Shootout championship
W 85–76  9–4
Convocation Center (250)
New Orleans, LA
Conference USA regular season
Dec 28, 2017
7:00 pm, beIN
at Western Kentucky L 68–69  9–5
(0–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,897)
Bowling Green, KY
Dec 30, 2017
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Marshall L 65–78  9–6
(0–2)
Cam Henderson Center (5,683)
Huntington, WV
Jan 4, 2018
6:30 pm, Stadium
UTSA L 76–78  9–7
(0–3)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,159)
Ruston, LA
Jan 6, 2018
6:00 pm
UTEP W 97–88  10–7
(1–3)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,654)
Ruston, LA
Jan 11, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Middle Tennessee L 57–72  10–8
(1–4)
Murphy Center (4,418)
Murfreesboro, TN
Jan 13, 2018
4:00 pm, Stadium
at UAB L 62–74  10–9
(1–5)
Bartow Arena (3,743)
Birmingham, AL
Jan 18, 2018
6:30 pm, Stadium
North Texas W 66–65  11–9
(2–5)
Thomas Assembly Center (4,236)
Ruston, LA
Jan 20, 2018
6:00 pm
Rice W 69–54  12–9
(3–5)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,836)
Ruston, LA
Jan 27, 2018
6:00 pm
Southern Miss W 89–66  13–9
(4–5)
Thomas Assembly Center (4,269)
Ruston, LA
Feb 1, 2018
6:00 pm, Stadium
at Florida Atlantic W 67–62  14–9
(5–5)
FAU Arena (1,472)
Boca Raton, FL
Feb 3, 2018
6:00 pm
at FIU L 68–71  14–10
(5–6)
FIU Arena (2,463)
Miami, FL
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm, beIN
Charlotte W 83–65  15–10
(6–6)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,657)
Ruston, LA
Feb 10, 2018
6:00 pm, Stadium
Old Dominion L 69–82  15–11
(6–7)
Thomas Assembly Center (4,031)
Ruston, LA
Feb 15, 2018
8:00 pm, CBSSN
UAB W 73–60  16–11
(7–7)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,562)
Ruston, LA
Feb 17, 2018
6:00 pm, Stadium
Middle Tennessee L 70–87  16–12
(7–8)
Thomas Assembly Center (4,847)
Ruston, LA
Feb 22, 2018
6:00 pm, Stadium
at UTEP L 72–74  16–13
(7–9)
Don Haskins Center (5,386)
El Paso, TX
Feb 24, 2018
7:30 pm
at UTSA L 64–74  16–14
(7–10)
Convocation Center (1,624)
San Antonio, TX
Mar 3, 2018
4:00 pm
at Southern Miss L 64–72  16–15
(7–11)
Reed Green Coliseum (2,687)
Hattiesburg, MS
Conference USA tournament
Mar 7, 2018
8:30 pm, Stadium
(10) vs. (7) North Texas
First round
W 68–62  17–15
The Ford Center at The Star 
Frisco, TX
Mar 8, 2018
8:30 pm, Stadium
(10) vs. (2) Old Dominion
Quarterfinals
L 58–62  17–16
The Ford Center at The Star 
Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References