RUSTON – With the 2024-25 Louisiana Tech Men's Basketball season just four days away, we take a deep dive into the non-conference schedule for the Bulldogs.
 
UT ARLINGTON (Nov. 9)
UT Arlington is coming off a 20-win season and a trip to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game under new head coach KT Turner.  The Mavericks, who finished with a NET ranking of 129, are picked to finish second in the WAC this season.
 
LA Tech and UTA last faced off in the 2020-21 season opener with the Bulldogs winning, 76-71, in Ruston.  This will be the 'Dogs first trip to Arlington (hometown of head coach Talvin Hester) to face UTA since 2013 when the two teams were WAC foes.
 
UMASS (Nov. 13)
UMass is coming off a 20-win season, its best finish in the last decade.  The year included wins over AAC champion South Florida and Big 12 opponent West Virginia, finishing with a NET ranking of 91.  The Minutemen, guided by head coach Frank Martin, were picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic 10. 
 
The two teams will face off in the Social Equality Games in Long Island, New York at Nassau Coliseum.  This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs and will be one of two A10 opponents that the Bulldogs will take on during non-conference play this season. 
 
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Nov. 25)
Southern Illinois went 19-13 last season, finishing sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference.  They registered marquee victories over New Mexico State, Saint Louis, and Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State.
 
The Salukis, which finished with a NET ranking of 116, were picked to finish seventh in the MVC this season.  LA Tech and SIU will open up the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida in what will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since 2006.
 
RICHMOND (Nov. 26)
Richmond went 23-10 a season ago, winning its first ever Atlantic 10 regular season title.  The Spiders, which finished with a NET ranking of 73 and had highlight wins over Charlotte and UNLV, would end up participating in the National Invitation Tournament.
 
Richmond is picked to finish seventh in the A10 preseason poll.  When the Bulldogs and Spiders face off on day two of the Gulf Coast Showcase, it will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
 
EASTERN KENTUCKY (Nov. 27)
Eastern Kentucky went 17-14 last season, claiming the Atlantic Sun regular season title after going 12-4 in league play.  It marked their first regular season championship since 1979. 
 
The Colonels are picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun preseason poll.  The two programs will battle in the third and final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.  It will be the fourth all-time meeting and the first since LA Tech and EKU played a home-and-home series during the 1974-75 season.
 
SOUTHERN (Nov. 30)
Southern enters the season having gone 18-14 a year ago, including marquee victories over Mississippi State and UNLV.  The Jaguars ended up tying for third in the SWAC with a 12-6 league mark.  Third is exactly where they are projected to finish in 2024-25 in the SWAC preseason poll.
 
LA Tech and Southern will be meeting for the ninth time.  The two programs last played in 2022 with the Bulldogs winning, 74-59, in Ruston.
 
MEMPHIS (Dec. 4)
LA Tech's second true road game of non-conference will come at Memphis, a team that won 22 games last season and was ranked as high as No. 10 in the country.  The Tigers, which finished with a NET ranking of 75, tied for fifth in the AAC.
 
Memphis is projected to finish second in the AAC this season.  This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers and the first since 2015.
 
UL-LAFAYETTE (Dec. 7)
The rivalry continues as LA Tech will head down south to Lafayette to take on the Ragin' Cajuns, which are coming off a 19-14 season and a fifth-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference standings. 
 
ULL, which finished with a NET ranking of 150, is picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt this season.  This will be the 170th all-time meeting on record between the two programs.  It will also be the 12th consecutive season the two teams will play in what has become an annual non-conference matchup. 
 
GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Dec. 13)
Georgia Southern went 9-24 last season under first-year head coach Charlie Henry.  The Eagles ended the season on a high note, winning four of their last six games including a Sun Belt Conference Tournament victory over South Alabama.
 
GSU is projected to finish eighth in the Sun Belt preseason poll.  This home-and-home series (LA Tech will play at Georgia Southern next season) will be just the fifth all-time meeting and the first since 1987 when they squared off in the Champion Holiday Classic in Missoula, Montana.
 
GRAND CANYON (Dec. 16)
Grand Canyon had a stellar 2023-24 season, going 30-5 while winning the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after an upset win over Saint Mary's. 
 
GCU, which finished with a NET ranking of 50 and was one of only seven teams in the country with 30+ victories, is picked to finish first in the WAC and is also receiving votes in the AP preseason poll.  It will be a rematch of last season's game in Phoenix when Grand Canyon narrowly won, 73-70.   
 
LA Tech will also host three non-Division I opponents this season – LSU-Alexandria (Nov. 4), Mississippi College (Nov. 18), and Rust College (Dec. 21).
 
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