# 2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

The 2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by second-year head coach Talvin Hester, played their home games at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as a members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 15–18, 7–13 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They defeated FIU in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to North Texas in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Keaston Willis | 0 | G | 6'3" | 190 | RS Junior | Sulphur Springs, TX | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Kenny Hunter | 1 | F | 6'10" | 235 | Sophomore | Shreveport, LA | Transferred to Texas Southern |
| Quandre Bullock | 3 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Junior | Roxboro, NC | Transferred to Niagara |
| Kaleb Stewart | 4 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Sophomore | Atascocita, TX | Transferred to South Dakota |
| Terran Williams | 5 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Sophomore | Marianna, AR | Transferred to Ouachita Baptist |
| LaDamien Bradford | 11 | G | 6'5" | 215 | RS Sophomore | Jonesboro, LA | Transferred to Xavier (NOLA) |
| David Green | 13 | F | 6'7" | 215 | RS Sophomore | Apopka, FL | Transferred to Rhode Island |
| Cobe Williams | 24 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Junior | Dallas, TX | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Pierce Geneste Jr. | 34 | F | 6'11" | 215 | Freshman | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to Fresno State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Devin Ree | 0 | F | 6'8" | 180 | Sophomore | Jackson, MS | Louisville |
| Tahlik Chavez | 1 | G | 6'2" | 160 | RS Senior | Arlington, TX | Charleston Southern |
| Tyler Henry | 3 | G | 6'4" | 186 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Southern Indiana |
| Sean Newman Jr. | 4 | G | 6'1" | 160 | RS Sophomore | Culver City, CA | Fullerton College |
| Jordan Turner | 5 | G/F | 6'8" | 195 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Baylor |
| Jaylin Henderson | 11 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Wichita, KS | Seward County CC |
| Daniel Batcho | 13 | F | 6'11" | 235 | RS Junior | Paris, France | Texas Tech |
| Alex Vertus | 21 | G | 6'3" | | Junior | Coral Springs, FL | Polk State College |
| Terri Miller | 34 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Junior | Fresno, CA | College of the Sequoias |

### 2023 recruiting class

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2023.

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| A.J. Bates #36 SG | Katy, Texas | Seven Lakes High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 11, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Landren Blocker #64 SF | Little Rock, Arkansas | Little Rock Christian Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 10, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Albert Green SG | San Diego, California | San Diego City College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 10, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Clarence Payia SF | Beaumont, Texas | Beaumont United High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 25, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 9:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Colorado State | L 73–81 | 0–1 | 16 – Henderson | 10 – Mangum | 5 – Newman Jr. | Moby Arena (4,331) Fort Collins, CO |
| November 13, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lyon | W 100–43 | 1–1 | 24 – Henderson | 10 – Mangum | 7 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,907) Ruston, LA |
| November 16, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 73–63 | 2–1 | 24 – I. Crawford | 9 – I. Crawford | 4 – Chavez | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,702) Monroe, LA |
| November 21, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Utah Louisiana Tech Multi-Team Event | W 67–53 | 3–1 | 18 – I. Crawford | 12 – Batcho | 4 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,013) Ruston, LA |
| November 22, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | McNeese Louisiana Tech Multi-Team Event | W 71–62 | 4–1 | 17 – Batcho | 8 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,012) Ruston, LA |
| November 25, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dillard | W 105–65 | 5–1 | 21 – Ree | 14 – Batcho | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (1,993) Ruston, LA |
| November 29, 2023* 8:00 p.m., MW Network | | at New Mexico | L 65–74 | 5–2 | 24 – I. Crawford | 12 – Batcho | 3 – I. Crawford | The Pit (10,216) Albuquerque, NM |
| December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Nicholls | W 68–55 | 6–2 | 20 – Chavez | 15 – Batcho | 7 – I. Crawford | Thomas Assembly Center (2,018) Ruston, LA |
| December 5, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Stephen F. Austin | W 56–49 | 7–2 | 19 – I. Crawford | 11 – Batcho | 3 – Henderson | William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,328) Nacogdoches, TX |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana | W 72–67 | 8–2 | 30 – Chavez | 8 – Batcho | 6 – I. Crawford | Thomas Assembly Center (2,474) Ruston, LA |
| December 12, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 89–60 | 9–2 | 22 – Chavez | 8 – Mangum | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,031) Ruston, LA |
| December 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | L 74–75 | 9–3 | 18 – Batcho | 13 – Batcho | 5 – Newman Jr. | Chaifetz Arena (4,789) St. Louis, MO |
| December 20, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Seattle C-USA/WAC Alliance | L 73–79 $^{OT}$ | 9–4 | 24 – Batcho | 16 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Redhawk Center (702) Seattle, WA |
| December 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Grand Canyon | L 70–73 | 9–5 | 16 – Tied | 6 – Batcho | 9 – Newman Jr. | GCU Arena (7,436) Phoenix, AZ |
| January 3, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dallas Christian | W 96–55 | 10–5 | 22 – Batcho | 7 – I. Crawford | 9 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,013) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston | L 77–81 | 10–6 (0–1) | 20 – Chavez | 11 – I. Crawford | 4 – Chavez | Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX |
| January 11, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 60–52 | 11–6 (1–1) | 16 – Batcho | 13 – Batcho | 3 – Newman Jr. | Murphy Center (2,505) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 14, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Liberty | W 80–76 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (2–1) | 22 – I. Crawford | 9 – Batcho | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,348) Ruston, LA |
| January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 74–57 | 13–6 (3–1) | 30 – I. Crawford | 8 – Mangum | 3 – Miller Jr. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,120) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 68–54 | 14–6 (4–1) | 19 – Batcho | 12 – Batcho | 6 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,290) Ruston, LA |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | W 73–53 | 15–6 (5–1) | 25 – I. Crawford | 16 – Batcho | 4 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,464) Ruston, LA |
| February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | W 93–53 | 16–6 (6–1) | 27 – Chavez | 13 – Batcho | 10 – Newman Jr. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,115) Miami, FL |
| February 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky | L 76–81 | 16–7 (6–2) | 25 – J. Crawford | 11 – Batcho | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,221) Ruston, LA |
| February 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Liberty | L 62–65 | 16–8 (6–3) | 19 – I. Crawford | 9 – Batcho | 7 – Newman Jr. | Liberty Arena (3,696) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 63–58 | 17–8 (7–3) | 17 – Miller Jr. | 6 – J. Crawford | 3 – Tied | Thomas Assembly Center (2,071) Ruston, LA |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 75–68 | 18–8 (8–3) | 24 – I. Crawford | 7 – Allen | 4 – J. Crawford | Thomas Assembly Center (2,273) Ruston, LA |
| February 22, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | W 65–59 | 19–8 (9–3) | 20 – Chavez | 10 – Allen | 6 – Newman Jr. | Don Haskins Center (3,896) El Paso, TX |
| February 24, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | W 67–58 | 20–8 (10–3) | 20 – I. Crawford | 10 – I. Crawford | 4 – J. Crawford | Pan American Center (4,724) Las Cruces, NM |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | W 90–84 | 21–8 (11–3) | 20 – I. Crawford | 7 – Tied | 8 – Newman Jr. | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,658) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 7, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Sam Houston | L 66–72 | 21–9 (11–4) | 20 – Batcho | 9 – Batcho | 5 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (3,092) Ruston, LA |
| March 9, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | W 84–70 | 22–9 (12–4) | 19 – Tied | 13 – I. Crawford | 6 – Newman Jr. | Thomas Assembly Center (2,636) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Middle Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 67–70 | 22–10 | 24 – Batcho | 11 – Tied | 5 – Newman Jr. | Von Braun Center (678) Huntsville, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source