RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech will play host to New Orleans on Bracket Buster Day at 5 p.m. in the Thomas Assembly Center it was announced Monday.
The Feb. 19 non-conference contest will be part of a big day of athletics at Louisiana Tech. The Bulldog baseball team will play host to defending Southeastern Conference Champion Arkansas at 1 p.m. that day, and the Lady Techsters will start off the hoops action by playing host to SMU at 3 p.m. followed by the men's basketball game against UNO.
"We're looking forward to a very special day for Louisiana Tech athletics on Feb. 19," Tech Director of Athletics Jim Oakes said. "We're going to bill it as 'Tech Tripleheader Day' and we hope can generate good crowds of all three of these important games."
Tech and UNO were conference rivals between 1986 and 2000, before Louisiana Tech made the move to the Western Athletic Conference. UNO holds a 24-18 lead over Louisiana Tech in a series that began in the last game of the 1970-71 season a 107-88 win by the Bulldogs in a NCAA regional playoff held in Lafayette, La.
The Lady Techsters and SMU will meet for the final time ever in regular season Western Athletic Conference action as the Mustangs depart the league following this season. Tech, which defeated SMU 69-62 in Dallas earlier this season, is currently No. 1 in the WAC at 8-1 while SMU is tied for second place at 6-3.
Tech Tripleheader Day will find Louisiana Tech's baseball team playing host to Arkansas in game two of a home season-opening three-game slate against the Razorbacks, who are ranked #24 in preseason polls after playing in the College World Series last season. The Bulldogs are expected to be a much improved team in Wade Simoneaux's third year as head coach.