RUSTON, La. -- The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team will play host to Sam Houston State 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, which requires a subscription.
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.
Lousiana Tech (1-0) pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the first official day of college basketball on Tuesday, shocking Wichita State (1-1), 71-58, in Charles Koch Arena in Kansas. 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. The 'Dogs were also strong on the boards, 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.
Sophomore Exavian Christon, of Hot Springs, was one of four Bulldogs in double digures. He was 4-for-7 shooting, including 2-for-3 on 3-pointers, for 12 points with four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Today is the first of seven non-conference home games for Louisiana 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 and a Preseason All-Southland Conference Second-Team selection. Sam Houston posted a 21-win season a year ago, which included a semifinal appearance in the College Insider Tournament.
They have notched 20-plus victories in four of the last five seasons and were picked to finish sixth in the Southland. They will be the first of four Southland opponents Louisiana Tech will play during the non-conference schedule.
Today's game 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. The Bulldogs hold a 4-1 advantage, having won the last four meetings.
Sports on 11/11/2018