RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team will play host to Sam Houston State on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. in its home opener inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
The matchup will be streamed live on CUSA.tv (subscription required).  Fans can also listen to the "Voice of the Bulldogs" Dave Nitz and Jack Thigpen call the action through the LA Tech Sports Network on KXKZ 107.5 FM (Ruston) and KRMD 100.7 FM/1340 AM (Shreveport) and the Louisiana Tech X mobile app. 
 
It will mark the start of the 37th season for the arena that opened in 1982.  The Bulldogs are 31-5 all-time in home openers at the TAC, having won 19 of the last 20 and are currently riding an 11-game winning streak in such games.   
 
LA Tech (1-0) pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the first official day of college basketball this past Tuesday, shocking Wichita State 71-58 in Charles Koch Arena.  The victory in the season opener snapped the Shockers 22-game winning streak in home openers and a 45-game non-conference home winning streak.
 
Scoring wise, it was the guard play of junior DaQuan Bracey and sophomore Amorie Archibald that led the way with a combined 30 points.  Then there was the tremendous rebounding effort of the 'Dogs, beating the Shockers on the glass 37-26, with Archibald pulling down a career-high nine boards.
 
Senior Derric Jean also played a critical role in the win, seeing his first action after missing all of the exhibition games and scrimmages due to offseason surgery.  The fourth-year Bulldog is one game away from playing in his 100th career game.
 
Sunday will be one of seven non-conference home games for LA Tech and one of only three in the month of November.  Since the 2008-09 season, the Bulldogs are 63-4 in non-conference games in the TAC. 
 
Sam Houston State (2-0) has started off the 2018-19 season with easy home wins over East Texas Baptist (85-64) and Southwestern (94-56).
 
The Bearkats are anchored by senior guard Marcus Morris, the lone returning starter from last year's squad, who is a SLC Preseason All-Conference Second Team selection.  Sam Houston posted a 21-win season a year ago which included a semifinal appearance in the CIT. 
 
They have notched 20+ victories in four of the last five seasons and were picked to finish sixth in the preseason Southland Conference standings.  They will be the first of four SLC opponents LA Tech will play during non-conference.    
 
Sunday is part of a home-and-home series as the Bulldogs will make the return trip to Huntsville, Texas next season.  The first ever meeting between the two programs separated by a little more than four hours was in 1946.  LA Tech holds a 4-1 advantage, having won the last four meetings.
 
Twitter users can follow @LATechHoops for live in-game updates, notes, photos, videos and more.