Both Louisiana Tech hoops teams will open up their respective seasons tonight.
The Lady Techsters host Jarvis Christian at 6:30 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center while the Bulldogs travel to face No. 14 ranked Alabama at 8 p.m. in Tuscaloosa.
Lady Techsters
Head coach Brooke Stoehr and the Lady Techsters welcome Jarvis Christian to the Thomas Assembly Center tonight.
The contest can be heard live on the LA Tech Sports Network on 97.7 FM with Kyle Roberts providing a call of the action. Pregame show begins at 6 p.m. The contest will also be streamed live on CUSATV.com.
LA Tech returns four letterwinners, including three starters, off last season’s roster that went 14-10 overall and 8-8 in Conference USA.
Of those four returners are Tech’s top two scorers in All-Conference USA second teamer Keiunna Walker (16.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and sophomore Anna Larr Roberson (11.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg). The Techsters welcome nine newcomers to the mix this year.
Jarvis Christian College is coming off an 11-game shorten season due to COVID19, going 2-9. The Bulldogs enters this season under fourth-year head coach Derek Hollman.
Jarvis Christian returns nine players from last years team, while welcoming in four newcomers. The Bulldogs look to be led by senior’s Makaila Cheatem and Brianna Page. They are 0-1 this season, having lost its season opener 83-70 to No. 8 Wayland Baptist University. Cheatem led the Lady Bulldogs with 22 points while Page added a 19 point, 12 rebound double-double.
Bulldogs
Head coach Eric Konkol and the Bulldogs will be tested right off the tip as Tech faces the 14th ranked Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network on KXKZ 107.5 FM or via the Louisiana Tech Athletics app with Malcolm Butler providing the call of the action. The pregame show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Fans can also watch the game on the SEC Network or a live stream on the WatchESPN app.
LA Tech had its final tune-up this past Thursday to wrap up preseason, defeating Mississippi College by a final score of 86-50. The Bulldogs shot 53 percent from the field while hitting 12 three-pointers, five of which came from transfer Keaston Willis who finished with a game-high 17 points.
Tonight will be the first time since 2002 that LA Tech faces a nationally-ranked opponent to open the season. In the last 10 years, the Bulldogs have played just four nationally-ranked teams.
Alabama, who advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season, begins this year ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press’ Top-25 preseason poll. The Tide ended the 2020-21 campaign ranked No. 5 in the AP poll, matching the highest ranking in program history.
The Tide won its lone exhibition game against UL-Lafayette, 73-68.
LA Tech and Alabama will meet for the seventh time on the hardwood. The Tide have won all six meetings, but the last three have been decided by 10 points or less. The last meeting came in 2017 when the Bulldogs led for over 36 minutes and had as much as an 11-point second half lead, but Alabama escaped with a 77-74 win.
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