RUSTON – After pulling off Conference USA wins over Marshall and WKU, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs were named ESPN's Team of the Week.
Written by ESPN's Jeff Borzello
It was a difficult week for this award. Providence was a prime candidate, but the Friars earned the honor two weeks ago and their marquee win was over a shorthanded Seton Hall team (although I did move Ed Cooley's team into the top 16, so that's a nice consolation prize). And honorable mention goes to a pair of 3-0 ACC teams in Louisville and Miami, as well as a couple of mid-major teams coming off thoroughly impressive weeks in VMI and William & Mary.
But this week, it's Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have been a consistent factor near the top of the Conference USA standings since joining the league in 2013, winning at least 20 games in seven of eight seasons and at least 12 league games in six of eight seasons. But they haven't gotten over the hump and into the NCAA tournament yet. Could this be the year? They already beat Santa Clara on the road and lost to LSU and NC State by single digits -- but just finished up their best week of this season so far.
Tech opened with a 23-point win over Marshall, the team picked two spots behind it in the preseason C-USA poll. It overcame the first single-digit scoring performance of the season from star big man Kenneth Lofton, Jr., getting impressive efforts from guards Cobe Williams and Keaston Willis. But the big win of the week was a one-point win over Western Kentucky. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half, and by six in the final minute. But Lofton bounced back with 22 points (including the winning free throws with five seconds left) and 11 boards, while Williams hit a couple of big shots late. According to the school, Tech led for a total of just 26 seconds.
