RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech looks to regain momentum Thursday as the Bulldogs play host to Rice in a 6:30 p.m. contest at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Tech has lost four consecutive games after winning seven of their previous eight and stands at 13-13 overall and 8-8 in the Western Athletic Conference while Rice is 16-10 and 10-6.

The Bulldogs are currently tied with Fresno State and Southern Methodist for fourth place in the WAC with two games remaining and are assured of at least a top six finish and play-in round tournament bye by virtue of beating Hawaii in a head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the regular-season series over the Rainbows. Hawaii stands in seventh place in the conference at 14-11 and 6-10.

But just because the Bulldogs have escaped playing a first-round game doesn't mean the team doesn't have much to play for.

"There's a lot we still have to play for," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "Any top five finish in this league means you've had a pretty good season. We have a chance for nine conference wins, which would better last year's mark. We have a chance for a winning season, which would better last year's .500 record. But the big thing is that you'd like to have that momentum heading into the conference tournament."

Sophomore forward Paul Millsap leads the Bulldogs with 20.2 points per outing and leads the nation with 12.1 rebounds per contest and is coming off a monster game at Boise State in which he scored 29 points while setting a new
career-high in rebounds with 25.

But Tech lost that game 79-75 as the Bulldogs struggled defensively, giving up over 70 points for the fourth straight game. Not coincidently, all four of those games resulted in losses.

Tech is giving up an average of 69.3 points per game and gave up that 64.2 ppg on the streak where the Bulldogs won seven of eight contest. But during the four-game losing slide Louisiana Tech opponents have averaged 82.0 ppg.

Scoring defense has played a crucial role for Louisiana Tech throughout the season. The Bulldogs are 2-10 when opponents have scored 70 points or more and 11-3 when holding opponents under 70 points.

Senior guard Donell Allick is adding 12.2 ppg for the Bulldogs while junior guard Daevon Haskins ranks No. 2 in WAC assists with 5.7 per game and also ranks second in conference steals with 1.94 per contest.

Rice is led by the top scorer and rebounder in Owl history, senior forward Michael Harris, who is averaging 20.6 ppg and 11.9 rpg.

Harris also leads the WAC in field goal percentage (.611) after connecting on 203-of-332 attempts.

Senior guard Jason McKrieth is the only other Owl scoring in double figures with 14.1 ppg.

Richard knows his team's defensive play around Harris will be a key factor, but he's looking for an overall improvement from his Bulldogs as they close out the regular season against Rice and Tulsa.

"We just have to keep plugging away and hope this thing turns around," Richard said. "We just have to keep trying to improve and go at this game against Rice and try to get better around Paul."

Louisiana Tech leads Rice 7-4 in a series which began during the 1974-75 season at the Pacemaker Classic in Monroe, La. The Owls picked up their fourth series win earlier this season on New Year's Day with a 78-57 home win over the Bulldogs. Tech has outscored Rice 789 - 700 in the series for an average win of 71.1 - 63.6.

The Tech-Rice game will be broadcast live on KNBB-FM 99.3 with the pregame show beginning at 6 p.m.