# 2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

The 2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Basketball Team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season. The Bulldogs, led by second-year head coach Eric Konkol, played their home games at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana and were members of Conference USA. They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2015–16 season 23–10, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in three-way tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to Old Dominion. They received an invitation to the inaugural Vegas 16 where they lost in the quarterfinals to East Tennessee State.

## Preseason

The Bulldogs were picked to finish in seventh place in the preseason Conference USA poll. Erik McCree was selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Alex Hamilton | 0 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Chipley, FL | Graduated |
| Dayon Griffin | 10 | G | 6'5" | 188 | Sophomore | St. Petersburg, FL | Transferred to Central Florida |
| Branden Sheppard | 15 | F | 6'7" | 225 | RS Freshman | Shreveport, LA | Transferred to Pearl River CC |
| Merrill Holden | 21 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Junior | Lincoln, NE | Graduate transferred to Iowa State |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Omar Sherman | 24 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Junior | Duncanville, Texas | Junior college transferred from Paris Junior College |

## Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| DaQuan Bracey PG | Baltimore, MD | St. Frances Academy | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Nov 17, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jalen Harris SG | Duncanville, TX | Duncanville High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| JaColby Pemberton SG | Lancaster, TX | Lancaster High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Oct 17, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Oliver Powell PF | Rowlett, TX | Rowlett High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: #127 ||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| 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 |||||||
| 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 |||||||
| Anthony Duruji F | 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 |||||||
| 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 August 7, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/03/2016* 6:30 pm | | Southern Arkansas | W 86–69 | | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 5:30 pm | | at South Carolina | L 76–85 | 0–1 | Colonial Life Arena (13,344) Columbia, SC |
| 11/16/2016* 6:30 pm | | Alabama State | W 87–56 | 1–1 | Thomas Assembly Center (3,016) Ruston, LA |
| 11/19/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Nebraska | L 54–65 | 1–2 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,824) Lincoln, NE |
| 11/23/2016* 6:30 pm | | Oklahoma Baptist | W 79–63 | 2–2 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,017) Ruston, LA |
| 11/27/2016* 4:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore California Bears Classic | W 74–53 | 3–2 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,027) Ruston, LA |
| 11/30/2016* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at California California Bears Classic | L 59–68 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | Haas Pavilion (8,129) Berkeley, CA |
| 12/03/2016* 6:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana California Bears Classic | W 88–59 | 4–3 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,764) Ruston, LA |
| 12/05/2016* 6:30 pm | | Alcorn State California Bears Classic | W 98–65 | 5–3 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,424) Ruston, LA |
| 12/10/2016* 7:15 pm | | at Louisiana–Lafayette | L 83–91 | 5–4 | Cajundome (4,491) Lafayette, LA |
| 12/13/2016* 6:30 pm | | Prairie View A&M | W 65–52 | 6–4 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,213) Ruston, LA |
| 12/17/2016* 7:00 pm | | vs. Grambling State Shreveport-Bossier Holiday Classic | W 89–55 | 7–4 | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum (877) Shreveport, LA |
| 12/20/2016* 6:30 pm | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 78–79 | 7–5 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,277) Ruston, LA |
| 12/22/2016* 6:30 pm | | LSU–Shreveport | W 95–53 | 8–5 | Thomas Assembly Center (2,044) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| 01/01/2017 2:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 79–55 | 9–5 (1–0) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,761) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 01/05/2017 6:30 pm | | UTEP | W 64–44 | 10–5 (2–0) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,205) Ruston, LA |
| 01/07/2017 6:00 pm | | UTSA | L 68–69 | 10–6 (2–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,513) Ruston, LA |
| 01/12/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Charlotte | W 79–73 | 11–6 (3–1) | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,319) Charlotte, NC |
| 01/14/2017 5:00 pm | | at Old Dominion | W 75–63 | 12–6 (4–1) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,564) Norfolk, VA |
| 01/19/2017 6:30 pm | | Rice | W 74–64 | 13–6 (5–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,313) Ruston, LA |
| 01/21/2017 6:00 pm | | North Texas | W 81–57 | 14–6 (6–1) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,066) Ruston, LA |
| 01/26/2017 8:00 pm, ASN | | at UAB | L 70–79 | 14–7 (6–2) | Bartow Arena (3,642) Birmingham, AL |
| 01/28/2017 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Middle Tennessee | L 61–71 | 14–8 (6–3) | Murphy Center (7,805) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/02/2017 7:00 pm, beIN | | WKU | W 76–67 | 15–8 (7–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,802) Ruston, LA |
| 02/04/2017 6:00 pm | | Marshall | W 94–90 | 16–8 (8–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (4,804) Ruston, LA |
| 02/09/2017 8:00 pm | | at UTEP | W 62–61 | 17–8 (9–3) | Don Haskins Center (6,698) El Paso, TX |
| 02/11/2017 3:00 pm | | at UTSA | W 72–66 | 18–8 (10–3) | Convocation Center (1,212) San Antonio, TX |
| 02/16/2017 6:30 pm | | Florida Atlantic | W 95–69 | 19–8 (11–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,012) Ruston, LA |
| 02/18/2017 6:00 pm | | FIU | W 77–61 | 20–8 (12–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,418) Ruston, LA |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm | | at North Texas | W 85–67 | 21–8 (13–3) | The Super Pit (2,217) Denton, TX |
| 02/25/2017 7:00 pm | | at Rice | L 81–88 | 21–9 (13–4) | Tudor Fieldhouse (3,302) Houston, TX |
| 03/04/2017 1:00 pm, ASN | | Southern Miss | W 93–65 | 22–9 (14–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (3,102) Ruston, LA |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2017 5:30 pm, ASN | (2) | vs. (7) UAB Quarterfinals | W 69–57 | 23–9 | Legacy Arena (4,005) Birmingham, AL |
| 03/10/2017 2:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) Marshall Semifinals | L 77–93 | 23–10 | Legacy Arena (3,299) Birmingham, AL |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||