Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball program, nicknamed the Dunkin' Dogs, represents intercollegiate men's basketball at Louisiana Tech University. The program competes in Conference USA in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and plays home games at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana. Talvin Hester is in his second season as the Bulldogs' head coach.

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History

Conference affiliations

1925–1939: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1939–1948: Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference
1948–1971: Gulf States Conference
1971–1987: Southland Conference
1987–1991: American South Conference
1991–2001: Sun Belt Conference
2001–2013: Western Athletic Conference
2013–?: Conference USA
2027–future: Sun Belt Conference

Championships

Conference regular season championships

Season	Conference	Record	Head coach
1909–10	Louisiana State Intercollegiate Athletic Association	N/A	Percy S. Prince
1926–27	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	N/A	Robert S. Wynn
1927–28	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	N/A	Robert S. Wynn
1933–34	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	N/A	Hal Lee
1941–42	Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1945–46	Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1946–47	Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1947–48	Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1952–53	Gulf States Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1954–55	Gulf States Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1958–59	Gulf States Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1963–64	Gulf States Conference	N/A	Cecil Crowley
1966–67	Gulf States Conference	11–1	Scotty Robertson
1969–70	Gulf States Conference	9–3	Scotty Robertson
1970–71	Gulf States Conference	10–0	Scotty Robertson
1975–76	Southland Conference	9–1	Emmett Hendricks
1984–85	Southland Conference	11–1	Andy Russo
1986–87	Southland Conference	9–1	Tommy Joe Eagles
1987–88	American South Conference	7–3	Tommy Joe Eagles
1989–90	American South Conference	8–2	Jerry Loyd
1991–92	Sun Belt Conference	13–3	Jerry Loyd
1998–99	Sun Belt Conference	10–4	Keith Richard
[2012–13 NCAA NCAA Division I\|Division I men's basketball season\|2012–13]	Western Athletic Conference	16–2	Michael White
2013–14	Conference USA	13–3	Michael White
2014–15	Conference USA	15–3	Michael White
2020–21	Conference USA	12–4	Eric Konkol

Conference tournament championships

Year	Conference	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Most Valuable Player	Site
1984	Southland	[1983–84 1988–89 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team\|Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team\|Louisiana Tech]	68–65	Lamar	Willie Simmons	Beaumont Civic Center; Beaumont, Texas
1985	Southland	Louisiana Tech	70–69	Lamar	Jerry Everett	Thomas Assembly Center; Ruston, Louisiana
1987	Southland	Louisiana Tech	58–51	Arkansas State	Robert Godbolt	Thomas Assembly Center; Ruston, Louisiana
1988	American South	Louisiana Tech	69–66	New Orleans		Montagne Center; Beaumont, Texas
1989	American South	Louisiana Tech	84–62	New Orleans		Cajundome; Lafayette, Louisiana
1991	American South	Louisiana Tech	61–56	New Orleans		Lakefront Arena; New Orleans, Louisiana

Postseason

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament five times. Their combined record is 4–5.

1984	#10	Round of 48 Round of 32	#7 Fresno State 2 Houston	W 66–56L 69–77
1985	#5	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#12 Pittsburgh 4 Ohio State 1 Oklahoma	W 78–54W 79–67 L 84–86
1987	#14	Round of 64	#3 DePaul	L 62–76
1989	#9	Round of 64 Round of 32	#8 La Salle 1 Oklahoma	W 83–74L 81–124
1991	#12	Round of 64	#5 Wake Forest	L 65–71

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament two times. Their combined record is 2–2.

1967	Regional semifinals Regional Final	North Dakota Illinois State	W 86–77 L 66–89
1971	Regional semifinals Regional Third Place	Tennessee State New Orleans	L 90–91 W 107–88

NIT results

Louisiana Tech has appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 15–10.

1986	First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place	Northern Arizona McNeese State Providence Ohio State Florida	W 67–61 W 77–61 W 64–63 L 66–79 W 67–62
1988	First round Second Round	Arkansas–Little Rock Connecticut	W 66–56 L 59–65
1990	First round	Vanderbilt	L 90–98^OT
1992	First round	New Mexico	L 84–90
2002	Opening Round First round Second Round	Louisiana–Lafayette Vanderbilt Villanova	W 83–63 W 83–68 L 64–67
2006	First round	Clemson	L 53–69
2013	First round Second Round	Florida State Southern Miss	W 71–66 L 52–63
2014	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Iona Georgia Florida State	W 89–88 W 79–71 L 75–78
2015	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Central Michigan Texas A&M Temple	W 89–79 W 84–72 L 59–77
2021	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place	Ole Miss Western Kentucky Mississippi State Colorado State	W 70–61 W 72–65 L 62–84 W 76–74

Vegas 16 results

The Bulldogs have appeared in one Vegas 16. Their record is 0–1.

2016

Quarterfinals

East Tennessee State

L 83–88

CIT results

Louisiana Tech has appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Their combined record is 1–1.

2010

First round
Quarterfinals

Southern Miss
Missouri State

W 66–57
L 40–69

NAIA tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NAIA tournament four times. Their combined record is 1–4.

1942	First round	Texas Tech	L 47–59
1946	First round	Eastern Washington State	L 44–66
1953	First round	Hamline	L 80–89
1955	First round Second Round	Coe Steubenville	W 94–65 L 65–90

Home venues

The Men's Gymnasium was located on Mayfield Avenue, directly north of the northwest corner of Hale Hall and across the street from the eventual site of Memorial Gymnasium. It was located north of the original Tech Stadium football field, and was demolished around 1984 to create more parking adjacent to Hale Hall.

Memorial Gymnasium (1952–1982)

In 1952, Memorial Gymnasium was a 4,800-seat gymnasium constructed on the Louisiana Tech University campus in Ruston to serve as the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team. Today Memorial Gym serves as a practice facility for the basketball team.

Thomas Assembly Center (1982–present)

The Thomas Assembly Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Ruston, Louisiana. The arena, named for its benefactor and businessman Samuel M. Thomas, is home to the Division I NCAA Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs men's basketball team.

Traditions

Dunkin' Dogs

The Dunkin' Dogs nickname emerged during the 1982–83 season led by Karl Malone and Willie Simmons making highlight reel dunks. The tradition has continued through time as the current Dunkin' Dogs led by Raheem Appleby, Michale Kyser, and Alex Hamilton have made several dunks featured nationally on ESPN's SportsCenter Top Plays and Fox Sports Live's The 1.

Hoop Troop

Hoop Troop is the official basketball pep band at Louisiana Tech University. The Hoop Troop performs at most men's basketball home games and travels to select road basketball games. The band also usually travels to all post-season games played by the Bulldogs, and is known nationally as one of the best basketball bands in college basketball. In the 2005 post-season, the Hoop Troop was featured in a Sports Illustrated's College Edition article, "65 Things We Want to See During March Madness" in which states, "30) The Louisiana Tech pep band, a.k.a. the Hoop Troop, the funniest band in the land." The Hoop Troop was the only basketball band to be listed.

Players

Basketball Hall of Fame

Leon Barmore, 2003
Karl Malone, 2010

Retired numbers

12	Leon Barmore	1965–1967
32	Karl Malone	1982–1985
44	Jackie Moreland	1957–1960

All-Americans

Jackie Moreland – 1958, 1959, 1960
Ray Germany – 1959, 1960
Mike Green – 1971, 1972, 1973
Mike McConathy – 1976
Karl Malone – 1983, 1984, 1985
Randy White – 1989

Conference Player of the Year

Jackie Moreland – 1960
Mike Green – 1973
Mike McConathy – 1976
Karl Malone – 1983
Randy White – 1988, 1989
Ron Ellis – 1992
Gerrod Henderson – 2000
Speedy Smith – 2015
Alex Hamilton – 2016

Conference Freshman of the Year

Antonio Meeking - 2000
Paul Millsap - 2004
Raheem Appleby - 2012
DaQuan Bracey - 2017
Kenneth Lofton, Jr. - 2021

Leading scorers

1	Mike Green	1969–1973	2,340
2	Mike McConathy	1973–1977	2,033
3	Alex Hamilton	2012–2016	1,986
4	Randy White	1985–1989	1,947
5	Anthony Dade	1988–1992	1,867
6	Gerrod Henderson	1998–2002	1,829
7	Raheem Appleby	2011–2015	1,770
8	Karl Malone	1982–1985	1,716
9	Paul Millsap	2003–2006	1,708
10	Kyle Gibson	2006–2010	1,677

NBA draftees

The Bulldogs have had 14 players selected in the NBA draft, including 4 first round picks. Twice the Bulldogs have had multiple players taken in the same draft year.

1960	1	4	4	Jackie Moreland	Detroit Pistons
1967	15	10	148	Rich Peek	Baltimore Bullets
1970	6	5	90	Charlie Bishop	Cincinnati Royals
1973	1	4	4	Mike Green	Seattle SuperSonics
1977	4	13	79	Mike McConathy	Chicago Bulls
1979	2	17	39	Victor King	Los Angeles Lakers
1984	6	19	135	Rennie Bailey	Detroit Pistons
1985	4	6	76	Willie Simmons	Sacramento Kings
1985	1	13	13	Karl Malone	Utah Jazz
1989	1	8	8	Randy White	Dallas Mavericks
1992	2	22	49	Ron Ellis	Phoenix Suns
1992	2	2	29	P. J. Brown	New Jersey Nets
2004	2	17	47	Paul Millsap	Utah Jazz
2010	2	21	51	Magnum Rolle	Oklahoma City Thunder
2020	2	29	59	Jalen Harris	Toronto Raptors