RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech looks to close out regular-season play with a badly needed win as the Bulldogs play host to Tulsa Saturday in a 6:30 p.m. contest at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs stand at 13-14 overall and 8-9 in the Western Athletic Conference while Tulsa is 9-18 and 5-12.

Tech has already locked up a fifth or sixth place seeding in the WAC tournament and will begin quarterfinal play in Reno, Nev., on Thursday. The exact seeding will be determined by the outcome of Saturday's WAC games. Tech's need for a win has nothing to do with seeding but instead is all about momentum.

The Bulldogs have lost five straight games after winning seven of their previous eight games, so a win is as much about peace of mind and confidence as it is about Tech's regular-season finish in the conference standings.

"We're shaken right now and our confidence is low," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "I don't really know what's happened, but we seem to have lost our fire. All we can do is keep fighting and hope we work ourselves out of it. This is the same team that won seven of eight earlier this season. We just have to pick things up and finish strong heading into the tournament."

Sophomore forward Paul Millsap leads Tech with 20.0 points per game and leads the nation in rebounds with 12.2 per game.

Senior guard Donell Allick is adding 13.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest for Tech while senior guard Corey Dean is chipping in with 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs have one usual starter listed as questionable heading into the game as senior forward Wayne Powell missed last game with a leg injury he suffered two games ago at Boise State.

Tech's regular season finale against Tulsa will be the final home game for its four seniors -- Allick, Dean, Powell and Barry Thompson, and the Bulldogs are hoping to send those four out with a win in their last game in the TAC. Tech's four seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

"We need a win bad right now," Millsap said. "We'd like to send our seniors out with a win and we need to gain some momentum heading into the tournament. Hopefully we can start turning things around against Tulsa."

The Golden Hurricane is led by senior forward Jarius Glenn, who is averaging 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Tulsa's Anthony Price, a junior forward, is the only other Golden Hurricane scoring in double figures with 13.3 ppg.

Louisiana Tech opened its WAC season in winning fashion on Dec. 30 as the Bulldogs took a 58-52 victory at Tulsa. Millsap led the way for the 'Dogs in that one with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Powell added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Junior guard Seneca Collins led Tulsa in that contest with 10 points while Glenn added eight points for the Golden Hurricane.

Louisiana Tech leads Tulsa 5-4 in a series that began with a single game during the 1989-90 season. The Bulldogs have outscored the Golden Hurricane 652-635 for an average series win of 72.4 - 70.5.

The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ FM-107.5 in Ruston, La., with the pregame show beginning at 6 p.m.