RUSTON ââ'¬" Fans will get their first live look at the 2016-17 Dunkin' Dogs as Louisiana Tech takes on Southern Arkansas in an exhibition game on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

Head coach Eric Konkol enters his second season at the helm, a year removed from leading LA Tech to a 23-win season and the program's fourth straight postseason appearance.

Since the end of last season, there have been quite a few changes like guard Jacobi Boykins changing numbers, new Adidas uniforms and six new additions to the team. One of the other changes you will notice is how much bigger and stronger the Bulldogs look.

"I think our added strength and conditioning will be the biggest change for us," Konkol said. "Casey Cathrall has done a tremendous job. It is part of the culture that we want. We want be very strong and physical, but we also want to be very fast and explosive and attacking in the way we play. We feel like we have grown a lot in that area over the offseason.

"Our team is extremely excited. We get to play in front of our fans. There is nothing greater than that. To keep building, to keep learning about ourselves, we are all very excited about it."

One position that will gain a lot of attention is at point guard where sophomore Derric Jean and freshman DaQuan Bracey will take over for Alex Hamilton who was last year's Conference USA Player of the Year and is now getting ready to play in the NBA D-League.

At shooting guard, the lefty Boykins looks to have a breakout season after starting in 29 games a year ago and almost averaging double-digit points. Providing depth there will be senior Da'Shawn Robinson and freshman Jalen Harris.

With underclassmen helping fill the needs of the backcourt, the Bulldogs' frontcourt is full of experience led by seniors Qiydar Davis, the vocal leader, and Erik McCree, the lead-by-example player.

McCree is coming off an All-Conference USA season, ranking second on the team in points and first in rebounds. Davis was well on his way to a standout year as well, but suffered a season-ending injury and is back and as healthy as ever after receiving a medical hardship waiver.

Big things can also be expected from sophomore Jy'lan Washington who led the team in blocks last season and the 7-foot sophomore Joniah White who is back after missing almost all of last year.

The new pieces to forward position will not be hard to miss. One is 6-foot-9-inch, 255 pound Omar Sherman who transferred to LA Tech after starting as a freshman at Miami (Fla.) and then playing one season at Paris Junior College. The other is freshman Oliver Powell who turned 18 years old not too long ago but already has a strong frame at 6-8, 220.

The opponent, Southern Arkansas, went 17-13 last season and finished tied for fifth in the Great American Conference as a Division II team.

The Bulldogs last played the Muleriders on the hardwood on Dec. 29, 2014 in a regular season matchup. LA Tech came away victorious by a score of 74-52.

Admission is free for the contest.

Fans are reminded that season tickets are still available sale for both the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters and can be purchased by calling 318-257-3631, emailing techtickets@latech.edu or logging onto LATechSports.com.

Live stats will be available through the link provided on the official website schedule page. Twitter users can get live updates of the game as well by following @LATechHoops.