2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team

2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	22–10 (12–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Talvin Hester (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Winston Hines; Aaron Smith; Darshawn McClellan;
Home arena	Thomas Assembly Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team represents Louisiana Tech University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by second-year head coach Talvin Hester, play their home games at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana as a members of Conference USA.

2023–24 Conference USA men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Sam Houston	13	–	3	.813	21	–	12	.636
Louisiana Tech	12	–	4	.750	22	–	10	.688
Western Kentucky †	8	–	8	.500	22	–	12	.647
Liberty	7	–	9	.438	18	–	14	.563
UTEP	7	–	9	.438	18	–	16	.529
New Mexico State	7	–	9	.438	13	–	19	.406
Middle Tennessee	7	–	9	.438	14	–	19	.424
Jacksonville State	6	–	10	.375	14	–	18	.438
FIU	5	–	11	.313	11	–	22	.333

† 2024 CUSA tournament winner

Previous season edit

The Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 15–18, 7–13 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They defeated FIU in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to North Texas in the quarterfinals.

Offseason edit

Departures edit

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Keaston Willis	0	G	6'3"	190	RS Junior	Sulphur Springs, TX	Transferred to Tulsa
Kenny Hunter	1	F	6'10"	235	Sophomore	Shreveport, LA	Transferred to Texas Southern
Quandre Bullock	3	G	6'6"	195	Junior	Roxboro, NC	Transferred to Niagara
Kaleb Stewart	4	G	6'3"	180	Sophomore	Atascocita, TX	Transferred to South Dakota
Terran Williams	5	G	6'5"	200	Sophomore	Marianna, AR	Transferred to Ouachita Baptist
LaDamien Bradford	11	G	6'5"	215	RS Sophomore	Jonesboro, LA	Transferred to Xavier (NOLA)
David Green	13	F	6'7"	215	RS Sophomore	Apopka, FL	Transferred to Rhode Island
Cobe Williams	24	G	6'0"	180	Junior	Dallas, TX	Transferred to Tulsa
Pierce Geneste Jr.	34	F	6'11"	215	Freshman	Los Angeles, CA	Transferred to Fresno State

Incoming transfers edit

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Devin Ree	0	F	6'8"	180	Sophomore	Jackson, MS	Louisville
Tahlik Chavez	1	G	6'2"	160	RS Senior	Arlington, TX	Charleston Southern
Tyler Henry	3	G	6'4"	186	Senior	Brooklyn, NY	Southern Indiana
Sean Newman Jr.	4	G	6'1"	160	RS Sophomore	Culver City, CA	Fullerton College
Jordan Turner	5	G/F	6'8"	195	RS Senior	Houston, TX	Baylor
Jaylin Henderson	11	G	6'3"	175	Junior	Wichita, KS	Seward County CC
Daniel Batcho	13	F	6'11"	235	RS Junior	Paris, France	Texas Tech
Alex Vertus	21	G	6'3"		Junior	Coral Springs, FL	Polk State College
Terri Miller	34	F	6'8"	250	Junior	Fresno, CA	College of the Sequoias

2023 recruiting class edit

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2023.

2024 recruiting class edit

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
A.J. Bates #36 SG	Katy, Texas	Seven Lakes High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 11, 2023
A.J. Bates #36 SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Landren Blocker #64 SF	Little Rock, Arkansas	Little Rock Christian Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 10, 2023
Landren Blocker #64 SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Albert Green SG	San Diego, California	San Diego City College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 10, 2023
Albert Green SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Clarence Payia SF	Beaumont, Texas	Beaumont United High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Nov 25, 2023
Clarence Payia SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster edit

2023–24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Devin Ree	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Oak Hill Academy (VA) Louisville	Jackson, MS
G	1	Tahlik Chavez	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	RS Sr	Lake Ridge HS Charleston Southern	Arlington, TX
F	2	Dravon Mangum	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Person HS Radford	Roxboro, NC
G	3	Tyler Henry	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Putnam Science Academy (CT) Southern Indiana	Brooklyn, NY
G	4	Sean Newman Jr.	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	RS So	Culver City HS Fullerton College	Los Angeles, CA
G/F	5	Jordan Turner	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Sr	Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) Baylor	Houston, TX
G	10	Ben Ponder (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Calvary Baptist Academy	Shreveport, LA
G	11	Jaylin Henderson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	Wichita West HS Seward County CC	Wichita, KS
F	12	Daniel Batcho	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS Jr	Texas Tech	Paris, France
F	14	Will Allen	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS So	Akfred Bonnabel HS	New Orleans, LA
G	20	Jordan Crawford	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Simsboro HS	Ruston, LA
G	21	Alex Vertus	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Putnam Science Academy (CT) Polk State	Coral Springs, FL
F	22	Isaiah Crawford	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Jr	North Crowley HS	Fort Worth, TX
F	34	Terri Miller	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Jr	Clovis North HS College of the Sequoias	Fresno, CA

Head coach

Talvin Hester (Texas Wesleyan)

Assistant coach(es)

Winston Hines (Stillman)
Aaron Smith (Prairie View A&M)
Darshawn McClellan (Vanderbilt)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results edit

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 9:00 p.m., MW Network		at Colorado State	L 73–81	0–1	16 – Henderson	10 – Mangum	5 – Newman Jr.	Moby Arena (4,331) Fort Collins, CO
November 13, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lyon	W 100–43	1–1	24 – Henderson	10 – Mangum	7 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (1,907) Ruston, LA
November 16, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Louisiana–Monroe	W 73–63	2–1	24 – I. Crawford	9 – I. Crawford	4 – Chavez	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,702) Monroe, LA
November 21, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Utah Louisiana Tech Multi-Team Event	W 67–53	3–1	18 – I. Crawford	12 – Batcho	4 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,013) Ruston, LA
November 22, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		McNeese Louisiana Tech Multi-Team Event	W 71–62	4–1	17 – Batcho	8 – Batcho	7 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,012) Ruston, LA
November 25, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Dillard	W 105–65	5–1	21 – Ree	14 – Batcho	5 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (1,993) Ruston, LA
November 29, 2023* 8:00 p.m., MW Network		at New Mexico	L 65–74	5–2	24 – I. Crawford	12 – Batcho	3 – I. Crawford	The Pit (10,216) Albuquerque, NM
December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Nicholls	W 68–55	6–2	20 – Chavez	15 – Batcho	7 – I. Crawford	Thomas Assembly Center (2,018) Ruston, LA
December 5, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	W 56–49	7–2	19 – I. Crawford	11 – Batcho	3 – Henderson	William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,328) Nacogdoches, TX
December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana	W 72–67	8–2	30 – Chavez	8 – Batcho	6 – I. Crawford	Thomas Assembly Center (2,474) Ruston, LA
December 12, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 89–60	9–2	22 – Chavez	8 – Mangum	5 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,031) Ruston, LA
December 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Saint Louis	L 74–75	9–3	18 – Batcho	13 – Batcho	5 – Newman Jr.	Chaifetz Arena (4,789) St. Louis, MO
December 20, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Seattle C-USA/WAC Alliance	L 73–79 ^OT	9–4	24 – Batcho	16 – Batcho	7 – Newman Jr.	Redhawk Center (702) Seattle, WA
December 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Grand Canyon	L 70–73	9–5	16 – Tied	6 – Batcho	9 – Newman Jr.	GCU Arena (7,436) Phoenix, AZ
January 3, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Dallas Christian	W 96–55	10–5	22 – Batcho	7 – I. Crawford	9 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,013) Ruston, LA
Conference USA regular season
January 6, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Sam Houston	L 77–81	10–6 (0–1)	20 – Chavez	11 – I. Crawford	4 – Chavez	Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX
January 11, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Middle Tennessee	W 60–52	11–6 (1–1)	16 – Batcho	13 – Batcho	3 – Newman Jr.	Murphy Center (2,505) Murfreesboro, TN
January 14, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN2		Liberty	W 80–76 ^OT	12–6 (2–1)	22 – I. Crawford	9 – Batcho	5 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,348) Ruston, LA
January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Jacksonville State	W 74–57	13–6 (3–1)	30 – I. Crawford	8 – Mangum	3 – Miller Jr.	Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,120) Jacksonville, AL
January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		UTEP	W 68–54	14–6 (4–1)	19 – Batcho	12 – Batcho	6 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,290) Ruston, LA
January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Mexico State	W 73–53	15–6 (5–1)	25 – I. Crawford	16 – Batcho	4 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,464) Ruston, LA
February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at FIU	W 93–53	16–6 (6–1)	27 – Chavez	13 – Batcho	10 – Newman Jr.	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,115) Miami, FL
February 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Kentucky	L 76–81	16–7 (6–2)	25 – J. Crawford	11 – Batcho	5 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,221) Ruston, LA
February 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Liberty	L 62–65	16–8 (6–3)	19 – I. Crawford	9 – Batcho	7 – Newman Jr.	Liberty Arena (3,696) Lynchburg, VA
February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jacksonville State	W 63–58	17–8 (7–3)	17 – Miller Jr.	6 – J. Crawford	3 – Tied	Thomas Assembly Center (2,071) Ruston, LA
February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		FIU	W 75–68	18–8 (8–3)	24 – I. Crawford	7 – Allen	4 – J. Crawford	Thomas Assembly Center (2,273) Ruston, LA
February 22, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UTEP	W 65–59	19–8 (9–3)	20 – Chavez	10 – Allen	6 – Newman Jr.	Don Haskins Center (3,896) El Paso, TX
February 24, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Mexico State	W 67–58	20–8 (10–3)	20 – I. Crawford	10 – I. Crawford	4 – J. Crawford	Pan American Center (4,724) Las Cruces, NM
February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Kentucky	W 90–84	21–8 (11–3)	20 – I. Crawford	7 – Tied	8 – Newman Jr.	E. A. Diddle Arena (5,658) Bowling Green, KY
March 7, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		Sam Houston	L 66–72	21–9 (11–4)	20 – Batcho	9 – Batcho	5 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (3,092) Ruston, LA
March 9, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	W 84–70	22–9 (12–4)	19 – Tied	13 – I. Crawford	6 – Newman Jr.	Thomas Assembly Center (2,636) Ruston, LA
Conference USA tournament
March 13, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	vs. (7) Middle Tennessee Quarterfinals	L 67–70	22–10	24 – Batcho	11 – Tied	5 – Newman Jr.	Von Braun Center (678) Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source^[1]

References edit

^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Louisiana Tech Athletics. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

[1] "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Louisiana Tech Athletics. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

[1]