When Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky hook up, the game usually has a good amount of meaning with being a solid school in Conference USA. Thursday’s tilt is slightly different, however, as the winner goes to the NIT semi-finals and has a losing season.
Both teams record their defenses as extreme as Louisiana Tech has allowed fewer than 70 points in 13 straight games while Western Kentucky has allowed 71 of 16 points or less in their last 17 games. The only exception was an obscure February non-conference game against Houston.
Louisiana Tech has balanced scoring between 11.9 and 8.9 points per game with six different players. Western Kentucky has little balance, but features a dominant big man in Charles Baisie, contributing 17.7 points per game, while among all Division I players in the top six with 11.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Ranking.
When the two met in the regular season, it was split at Bowling Green, Ky., Western Kentucky won back-to-back, 66–64 openers and Louisiana Tech took the second game, 63–58. Bassi had 38 points, 30 rebounds and seven blocks in those two matches, as both teams shot less than 28 percent.
3-point range for the series.
Western Kentucky shooting 81.8 percent from the free-throw line in road and neutral-court games. Louisiana Tech shoots 67.5 percent on the line away from home. Coupled with the Bulldogs, shooting just 29 percent from 3-point range away from home, breaking the Western Kentucky season-series tie should go to the NIT Final Four.
drama: Western Kentucky, +1.
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