# 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.

## 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.

## 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

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: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/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: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/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: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/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. ||||||

## 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. ||||||