2017–18 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

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.

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

Previous season

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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

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Departures

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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

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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

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    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 
Recruiting 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 
Recruiting 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

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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

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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

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