Busting Brackets
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Conference USA Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

By Andrew Dieckhoff

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Head coach Rick Stansbury of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes during their 2018 National Invitation Tournament Championship semifinals game at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 27: Head coach Rick Stansbury of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers reacts in the fourth quarter against the Utah Utes during their 2018 National Invitation Tournament Championship semifinals game at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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#5 — LOUISIANA TECH

2018-19 IN REVIEW

  • Record: 20-13 (9-9, 8th in C-USA)
  • Rankings: #123 in NET, #141 in KenPom
  • Postseason: none

2019-20 AT A GLANCE

HEAD COACH

  • Eric Konkol (5th year)
  • School W-L: 83-49 (.629)
  • Career W-L: 83-49 (.629)

PROJECTED STARTERS

  • DaQuan Bracey, G, Sr. — 31.1 MPG (28 starts), 15.5 PPG, 4.0 APG
  • Amorie Archibald, G, Jr. — 31.7 MPG (32 starts), 10.8 PPG, 3.1 APG
  • Exavian Christon, G, Jr. — 28.0 MPG (6 starts), 12.0 PPG, .407 3P%
  • Mubarak Muhammed, F, Sr. — 18.5 MPG (1 start), 5.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG
  • Oliver Powell, F/C, Sr. — 24.6 MPG (32 starts), 6.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG

NON-CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 11/16 @ Creighton
  • 11/25 @ Indiana
  • 12/05 @ Mississippi State
  • Full schedule still not released (matchups from Bart Torvik’s website)

2019-20 SEASON OUTLOOK

Though it feels strange to look too negatively on a 20-win season, the Bulldogs’ 8th-place finish in the C-USA really didn’t live up to the potential of this team. Louisiana Tech was hit hard by the injury bug, losing guards Exavian Christon and Derric Jean before Christmas. Both of them are back for coach Eric Konkol, but stud forward Anthony Duruji (12.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.2 BPG) is gone after transferring to Florida.

Still, the Bulldogs’ backcourt is stacked with talent, with DaQuan Bracey and Amorie Archibald really stepping up after the injuries to Christon and Jean. JaColby Pemberton (24 starts) also returns, having turned in averages of 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds after being thrust into the starting lineup.

As far as the frontcourt, Konkol has some questions to answer. Chief among those is figuring out how to fill the hole left by Duruji. Mubarak Muhammed played a lot of minutes at the 5 last year, but almost exclusively in a platoon with Oliver Powell. Will they play alongside each other? Will Tech run a lot of small lineups with bigger guards like Christon and Pemberton? Or will another player, such as sophomore Stacey Thomas (8.0 MPG in ’18-19) or former West Virginia transfer Andrew Gordon, step up into the role? How Konkol handles this situation will tell a lot about where the Bulldogs are headed this year.

Louisiana Tech needs to stay healthy if they want to compete for a Conference USA title. The depth that they have in the backcourt should be a massive strength for the Bulldogs, but that big void up front presents their greatest challenge in 2019-20.