RUSTON – Louisiana Tech head coach Eric Konkol has long said telling his team the Conference USA Tournament was being canceled was the hardest thing he has ever had to do professionally. 
 
That was on March 12. 
 
It will be 260 days later come Friday night when the Bulldogs will make their much-anticipated return to the hardwood as they open the 2020-21 season versus UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
The season opener will be part of the Louisiana Tech Classic presented by Hampton Inn of Ruston, a three-team event that will also include Northwestern State. 
 
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 KOKA 980 AM (Shreveport) as well as on the LA Tech Athletics app.
 
"We are excited to have a game on the horizon," said Konkol who enters his sixth season at the helm.  "So much of the summer and fall has been about us trying to become the best version of ourselves.  But now, it is about game-planning for an opponent.  We are looking forward to pushing forward and are doing everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to play our best basketball."
 
Despite losing four key seniors to graduation last year, LA Tech (0-0) still returns 11 letterwinners from that 22-win team. 
 
Among them are two of the top three scorers (redshirt senior Kalob Ledoux – 11.6 points per game, senior Amorie Archibald – 11.3 points per game) and two of the top three rebounders (redshirt senior JaColby Pemberton – 4.5 boards per game, sophomore Isaiah Crawford – 4.3 boards per game). 
 
It will also be another very experienced roster as 10 of the 15 players are upperclassmen, made up of seven seniors and three juniors.
 
UT Arlington (0-0) will have one game under its belt before heading to the TAC as the Mavericks host Oklahoma State on Wednesday. 
 
UTA recorded a 14-18 overall record in 2019-20 and went 10-10 in the Sun Belt, finishing seventh in the league standings.  They return David Azore who was a Second Team All-Sun Belt selection a season ago after averaging 14.0 points per game. 
 
LA Tech and UT Arlington are familiar with one another, having been conference foes twice before.  From 1972-86, they were both in the Southland Conference and in 2012-13, they were both members of the Western Athletic Conference.
 
The Bulldogs are 25-8 all-time against the Mavericks and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings.  LA Tech has never lost to UTA inside the TAC, having won all seven meetings including the last time these two squads met which was in 2015. 
 
Fans can follow Bulldog Basketball on Twitter (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops) and Facebook (LATechMBB) for live in-game updates.