LSU and Louisiana Tech are going to play basketball tonight in the Maravich Assembly Center and it or might not be a great game. But it’s got very little chance of being as good of a game as the one on Dec. 6, 1988, when these two teams played. It was their first meeting in 43 years.

Throughout the 1980s, I had been in countless “discussions” about who was the better team during that decade. They were constantly compared to each other, which was easy to do because they never played.

Until they did.

I covered hundreds of games during my sportswriting career and to this day, it remains one of the most memorable events I ever saw. Tech won 111-109 in overtime and I remember it like it was yesterday. I think.

So I’m going to try to remember as many things as I can without looking them up. Then, I’ll go back and fact check myself.

** I remember it was the final game of a six-day road trip for Tech. The Bulldogs had been in Syracuse for a tournament, then flew to Baton Rouge for this game before heading home. Tech had taken Syracuse to overtime two days earlier. (All correct.)

** I remember Chris Jackson scoring 49 points and this was before anyone had really heard of Chris Jackson. The next weekend, he opened the eyes of college basketball when he scored 52 against Florida. The Tech game was a preview of things to come. He was unstoppable that night against Tech. (Jackson had 48 points against Tech and then 53 against Florida … that’s pretty close.)

** I remember Tech’s Randy White was just as unstoppable, scoring 42 points and dominating inside. He would go on to be a first round draft pick, but he was never better than on this night. (White had 35, however he did outscore LSU’s two centers 35-0.)

** I remember two role players having key moments in the game. With the score tied, Lyle Mouton, perhaps LSU’s worst offensive player, took the final shot in regulation. Apparently someone forgot to introduce him to Chris Jackson. And I remember Tech point guard Brett Guillory making two clutch free throws in overtime to ice the game. (LSU didn’t get a shot off at the end of regulation; Mouton’s miss came at the end of overtime. Meanwhile, Guillory made six straight free throws in overtime.)

** I remember the late Tech Coach Tommy Joe Eagles saying it was the most important win of his basketball coaching career. Tommy Joe was one of my favorite people I ever dealt with, but he was also given to a bit of hyperbole now and then. I remember the LSU radio crew remarking off the air “how can he possible say that?” They didn’t know that this wasn’t just another game to Tommy Joe. (I’ll just say this; ask anyone who knew Tommy Joe Eagles if that is correct.)