# 2020–21 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

The 2020–2021 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Eric Konkol, and played their home games at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as a members of the West Division of Conference USA. The Bulldogs finished first in the West Division, but lost in the tournament to North Texas. They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Mississippi State, but then defeated Colorado State in the third-place game to win third place.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2019–20 season 22–8, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 3 seed in the C-USA tournament. However, they C-USA Tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 27, 2020* 6:30 p.m. | | UT Arlington Louisiana Tech Classic | W 76–71 | 1–0 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | Northwestern State Louisiana Tech Classic | W 91–77 | 2–0 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| December 3, 2020* 6:30 p.m. | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 78–62 | 3–0 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| December 6, 2020* 5:00 p.m. | | at LSU | L 55–86 | 3–1 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,505) Baton Rouge, LA |
| December 9, 2020* 6:30 p.m. | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 78–69 | 4–1 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| December 12, 2020* 6:00 p.m. | | at Louisiana | L 56–61 | 4–2 | Cajundome (1,459) Lafayette, LA |
| December 15, 2020* 6:30 p.m. | | Jackson State | W 85–58 | 5–2 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| December 19, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | Lamar | W 86–57 | 6–2 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| December 22, 2020* 6:30 p.m. | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 68–57 | 7–2 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,122) Monroe, LA |
| January 1, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | Marshall | W 75–68 | 8–2 (1–0) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| January 2, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | Marshall | L 73–80 | 8–3 (1–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| January 8, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at Western Kentucky | L 64–66 | 8–4 (1–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,102) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 9, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | at Western Kentucky | W 63–58 | 9–4 (2–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,123) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 15, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | UTSA | W 77–66 | 10–4 (3–2) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| January 16, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | UTSA | W 82–66 | 11–4 (4–2) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| January 22, 2021 8:00 p.m. | | at UTEP | L 74–82 | 11–5 (4–3) | Don Haskins Center (533) El Paso, TX |
| January 23, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at UTEP | W 73–55 | 12–5 (5–3) | Don Haskins Center (515) El Paso, TX |
| January 28, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | at Southern Miss | W 76–63 | 13–5 (6–3) | Reed Green Coliseum (1,200) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 30, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | Southern Miss | W 65–62 | 14–5 (7–3) | Reed Green Coliseum (1,200) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at North Texas | W 68–63 | 15–5 (8–3) | UNT Coliseum (1,535) Denton, TX |
| February 6, 2021 1:00 p.m. | | at North Texas | L 55–57 | 15–6 (8–4) | UNT Coliseum (1,532) Denton, TX |
| February 12, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | UAB | W 70–58 | 16–6 (9–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| February 13, 2021 3:00 p.m. | | UAB | W 69–64 | 17–6 (10–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| February 20, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | at Middle Tennessee | Canceled | Canceled | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | at Middle Tennessee | Canceled | Canceled | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| February 26, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | Rice | W 101–57 | 18–6 (11–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | Rice | W 79–58 | 19–6 (12–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| March 3, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Our Lady of the Lake | W 99–66 | 20–6 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 8:30 p.m., Stadium | (W1) | vs. (E4) Florida Atlantic Quarterfinals | W 75–69 | 21–6 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 12, 2021 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | (W1) | vs. (W3) North Texas Semifinals | L 48–54 | 21–7 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| NIT ||||||
| March 19, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (1) Ole Miss First round – Ole Miss bracket | W 70–61 | 22–7 | Comerica Center (543) Frisco, TX |
| March 25, 2021 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (3) Western Kentucky Quarterfinals– Ole Miss bracket | W 72–65 | 23–7 | Comerica Center Frisco, TX |
| March 27, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (4) Mississippi State Semifinals | L 62–84 | 23–8 | Comerica Center Frisco, TX |
| March 28, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (1) Colorado State Third-place game | W 76–74 | 24–8 | Comerica Center Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||