2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

The 2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Basketball Team represented Louisiana Tech University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season. The Bulldogs, led by second-year head coach Eric Konkol, played their home games at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 23–10, 14–4 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They beat UAB in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament before losing to Marshall in the semifinals. Despite finishing with 23 wins, the school declined to participate in a postseason tournament marking the first time since 2013 that they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	23–10 (14–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Eric Konkol (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Duffy Conroy Yaphett King Tony Skinn
Home arena	Thomas Assembly Center

2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Middle Tennessee †	17	–	1		.944			31	–	5		.861
Louisiana Tech	14	–	4		.778			23	–	10		.697
Old Dominion	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
UTEP	12	–	6		.667			15	–	17		.469
Rice	11	–	7		.611			23	–	12		.657
Marshall	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
UAB	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
Western Kentucky	9	–	9		.500			15	–	17		.469
UTSA	8	–	10		.444			14	–	19		.424
Charlotte	7	–	11		.389			13	–	17		.433
Florida Atlantic	6	–	12		.333			10	–	20		.333
Southern Miss	6	–	12		.333			9	–	22		.290
FIU	3	–	15		.167			7	–	24		.226
North Texas	2	–	16		.111			8	–	22		.267
† 2017 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2015–16 season 23–10, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in three-way tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to Old Dominion. They received an invitation to the inaugural Vegas 16 where they lost in the quarterfinals to East Tennessee State.

Preseason

The Bulldogs were picked to finish in seventh place in the preseason Conference USA poll. Erik McCree was selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Alex Hamilton	0	G	6'4"	190	Senior	Chipley, FL	Graduated
Dayon Griffin	10	G	6'5"	188	Sophomore	St. Petersburg, FL	Transferred to Central Florida
Branden Sheppard	15	F	6'7"	225	RS Freshman	Shreveport, LA	Transferred to Pearl River CC
Merrill Holden	21	F	6'8"	215	Junior	Lincoln, NE	Graduate transferred to Iowa State

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Omar Sherman	24	F	6'8"	225	Junior	Duncanville, Texas	Junior college transferred from Paris Junior College

Recruiting class of 2016

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
DaQuan Bracey PG	Baltimore, MD	St. Frances Academy	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 17, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jalen Harris SG	Duncanville, TX	Duncanville High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 22, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
JaColby Pemberton SG	Lancaster, TX	Lancaster High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A	Oct 17, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Oliver Powell PF	Rowlett, TX	Rowlett High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sep 24, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: #127
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.

Recruiting class of 2017

College recruiting information (2017)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Amorie Archibald SG	Deltona, FL	Trinity Christian Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 30, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Exavian Christon SG	Hot Springs, AR	Hot Springs High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sep 21, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Anthony Duruji F	Potomac, MD	St. Andrews Episcopal School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 17, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jacobi Boykins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Lakewood High School St. Petersburg, Florida G 1 Derric Jean 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So McArthur High School Miami, Florida F 2 Erik McCree 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Murray State Orlando, Florida G 3 Jalen Harris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Duncanville High School Duncanville, Texas G 4 DaQuan Bracey 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr St. Frances Academy Baltimore, Maryland C 5 Joniah White 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Grenada High School Duck Hill, Mississippi F 11 JaColby Pemberton   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Lancaster High School Dallas, Texas G 15 Jeremiah Taylor (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Lewisville High School Lewisville, Texas F 22 Jy'lan Washington 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Stewarts Creek High School Smyrna, Tennessee G 23 Da'Shawn Robinson  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Navarro College Houston, Texas F 24 Omar Sherman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Paris Junior College Duncanville, Texas G 25 Qiydar Davis  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Indian Hills Community College Atlanta, Georgia G 30 Luke Walker (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Brother Martin High School New Orleans, Louisiana F 35 Oliver Powell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Rowlett High School Rowlett, Texas	Head coach Eric Konkol (UW–Eau Claire) Assistant coach(es) Duffy Conroy (St. Ambrose) Yaphett King (Cal State Fullerton) Tony Skinn (George Mason) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/03/2016* 6:30 pm		Southern Arkansas	W 86–69		Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, LA
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 5:30 pm		at South Carolina	L 76–85	0–1	Colonial Life Arena (13,344) Columbia, SC
11/16/2016* 6:30 pm		Alabama State	W 87–56	1–1	Thomas Assembly Center (3,016) Ruston, LA
11/19/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Nebraska	L 54–65	1–2	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,824) Lincoln, NE
11/23/2016* 6:30 pm		Oklahoma Baptist	W 79–63	2–2	Thomas Assembly Center (2,017) Ruston, LA
11/27/2016* 4:00 pm		Maryland Eastern Shore California Bears Classic	W 74–53	3–2	Thomas Assembly Center (2,027) Ruston, LA
11/30/2016* 8:00 pm, P12N		at California California Bears Classic	L 59–68 OT	3–3	Haas Pavilion (8,129) Berkeley, CA
12/03/2016* 6:00 pm		Southeastern Louisiana California Bears Classic	W 88–59	4–3	Thomas Assembly Center (2,764) Ruston, LA
12/05/2016* 6:30 pm		Alcorn State California Bears Classic	W 98–65	5–3	Thomas Assembly Center (2,424) Ruston, LA
12/10/2016* 7:15 pm		at Louisiana–Lafayette	L 83–91	5–4	Cajundome (4,491) Lafayette, LA
12/13/2016* 6:30 pm		Prairie View A&M	W 65–52	6–4	Thomas Assembly Center (2,213) Ruston, LA
12/17/2016* 7:00 pm		vs. Grambling State Shreveport-Bossier Holiday Classic	W 89–55	7–4	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum (877) Shreveport, LA
12/20/2016* 6:30 pm		Florida Gulf Coast	L 78–79	7–5	Thomas Assembly Center (2,277) Ruston, LA
12/22/2016* 6:30 pm		LSU–Shreveport	W 95–53	8–5	Thomas Assembly Center (2,044) Ruston, LA
Conference USA regular season
01/01/2017 2:00 pm		at Southern Miss	W 79–55	9–5 (1–0)	Reed Green Coliseum (2,761) Hattiesburg, MS
01/05/2017 6:30 pm		UTEP	W 64–44	10–5 (2–0)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,205) Ruston, LA
01/07/2017 6:00 pm		UTSA	L 68–69	10–6 (2–1)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,513) Ruston, LA
01/12/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3		at Charlotte	W 79–73	11–6 (3–1)	Dale F. Halton Arena (4,319) Charlotte, NC
01/14/2017 5:00 pm		at Old Dominion	W 75–63	12–6 (4–1)	Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,564) Norfolk, VA
01/19/2017 6:30 pm		Rice	W 74–64	13–6 (5–1)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,313) Ruston, LA
01/21/2017 6:00 pm		North Texas	W 81–57	14–6 (6–1)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,066) Ruston, LA
01/26/2017 8:00 pm, ASN		at UAB	L 70–79	14–7 (6–2)	Bartow Arena (3,642) Birmingham, AL
01/28/2017 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at Middle Tennessee	L 61–71	14–8 (6–3)	Murphy Center (7,805) Murfreesboro, TN
02/02/2017 7:00 pm, beIN		WKU	W 76–67	15–8 (7–3)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,802) Ruston, LA
02/04/2017 6:00 pm		Marshall	W 94–90	16–8 (8–3)	Thomas Assembly Center (4,804) Ruston, LA
02/09/2017 8:00 pm		at UTEP	W 62–61	17–8 (9–3)	Don Haskins Center (6,698) El Paso, TX
02/11/2017 3:00 pm		at UTSA	W 72–66	18–8 (10–3)	Convocation Center (1,212) San Antonio, TX
02/16/2017 6:30 pm		Florida Atlantic	W 95–69	19–8 (11–3)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,012) Ruston, LA
02/18/2017 6:00 pm		FIU	W 77–61	20–8 (12–3)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,418) Ruston, LA
02/23/2017 7:00 pm		at North Texas	W 85–67	21–8 (13–3)	The Super Pit (2,217) Denton, TX
02/25/2017 7:00 pm		at Rice	L 81–88	21–9 (13–4)	Tudor Fieldhouse (3,302) Houston, TX
03/04/2017 1:00 pm, ASN		Southern Miss	W 93–65	22–9 (14–4)	Thomas Assembly Center (3,102) Ruston, LA
Conference USA tournament
03/09/2017 5:30 pm, ASN	(2)	vs. (7) UAB Quarterfinals	W 69–57	23–9	Legacy Arena (4,005) Birmingham, AL
03/10/2017 2:00 pm, CBSSN	(2)	vs. (6) Marshall Semifinals	L 77–93	23–10	Legacy Arena (3,299) Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source.