Sept. 15, 2011
Men's Basketball Schedule
RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech will play 15 home games - the most in a decade - as well as 11 contests against regional opponents as part of the 2011-12 men's basketball schedule that was released Thursday.
In addition to Tech's home slate, the Bulldogs test themselves on the road with contests against Arkansas, SMU and Wyoming as well as the normal challenge of league travel with seven games against WAC foes.
"Our non-conference schedule presents many challenges, both home and away, that we hope can prepare our young team for the Western Athletic Conference slate," said Tech first year head coach Michael White. "We have matchups against the SEC, C-USA, the Colonial and the Mountain West, along with many intrastate and interregional rivalries that should be of interest to our fan base."
The Bulldogs open the season at home against Mississippi College on Nov. 13 for the first meeting since the 1950-51 season.
After the opener, Tech will hit the road for six straight games beginning with a trip to face future conference foe UT-Arlington on Nov. 19 in one of the final games at Texas Hall (UTA opens its new arena in early 2012).
The Bulldogs will then travel to Wyoming to play three consecutive games in the Jim Thorpe Classic over the Thanksgiving weekend, facing Maryland Eastern Shore (Nov. 25), Portland State (Nov. 26) and Wyoming (Nov. 27). This will be the fifth consecutive year the program has played in an in-season tournament.
Tech heads to Hammond on Nov. 30 for the first meeting against Southeastern Louisiana in 20 years followed by a trip down I-20 Dec. 3 to play Louisiana Monroe.
Future LA Tech Hall-of-Famer Mike McConathy brings his Northwestern State Demons to Ruston for the first Bulldogs' home game in three weeks on Dec. 6. Tech then hits the road again for a trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Dec. 10 to face Southern Miss for the first time since the Bulldogs beat the Golden Eagles 66-57 in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2010.
A three-game home stand begins Dec. 14 against McNeese State and is followed by games against Arkansas-Little Rock and Northeastern of the Colonial Athletic Association on Dec. 17 and 20, respectively.
Tech travels to Fayetteville, Ark. to face Arkansas on Dec. 22 as the Bulldogs look to post their first win over the Razorbacks in six attempts.
The final home contest of 2011 takes place on Dec. 29 against Spring Hill College out of Mobile, Ala. with Tech finishing the year on the road against SMU in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 31.
Western Athletic Conference play begins following the New Year break with the first game taking place Jan. 7 at home against New Mexico State, which also starts a three-game home stand. The Bulldogs will also host Idaho on Jan. 12 and then four-time defending regular season conference champion Utah State on Jan. 14.
Trips to Hawai'i and San Jose State on Jan. 19 and 21, respectively, and home contests on Jan. 26 against Fresno State and Jan. 28 versus Nevada round out the first half of conference play.
Three consecutive road games begin the month of February for Tech starting with a trip to New Mexico State on the fourth and followed by games at Utah State on the ninth and Idaho on the 11th.
A home matchup against North Dakota on Feb. 16 is the first of a four game homestand and first of two straight non-conference contests.
LA Tech will host one of ESPNU's annual BracketBuster games for the second consecutive year on Feb. 18. The Bulldogs have won their past six BracketBuster contests including last season's 51-45 victory against Georgia State.
"Playing in the annual BracketBuster game is always exciting, especially with the contest being at home," said White.
The home portion of the schedule ends with San Jose State on Feb. 23 and Hawai'i on Feb. 25. The regular season slate finishes up with road trips to Fresno State and Nevada on March 1 and 3, respectively.
The 2012 WAC Tournament will take place March 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Orleans Arena.
For complete coverage of Bulldogs basketball, visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com and follow sports information contact Phillip Pongratz on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LATechPPongratz for the latest and most current news.
