Louisiana Tech’s 1985 Nationally Ranked Sweet 16 Team

Coming off a breakthrough 1983-84 season of firsts, including winning the Southland Conference tournament and a first-round victory over Fresno State in the NCAA tournament, the 1984-85 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs were poised for more success and unprecedented attention. The team wasted no time early in the season when the Karl Malone-led Bulldogs raced to a 10-0 start that included a win against No. 6 Louisville, 73-64, and road victories at Western Kentucky and Marshall.

Tech entered the AP poll at No. 20 on Dec. 18, 1984, and remained in the national rankings the rest of the year, peaking at No. 7 in late February before finishing No. 8 in the final ratings. While the Bulldogs rolled to an 11-1 mark in league play to win the Southland regular-season title, Tech narrowly survived two games against Louisiana-Monroe and Lamar in the Southland tournament to gain the league’s automatic bid.

As a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional, the highest seed given a Southland team, the Bulldogs quickly dispatched Pittsburgh and Ohio State to advance to the Midwest semifinals against Oklahoma. The Sooners prevailed in overtime, 86-84, and Louisiana Tech’s storybook season ended with a 29-3 record.

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