N.C. State Wolfpack (9-3) vs. La. Tech Bulldogs (8-3) – 7pm @ PNC Arena; Tv: Espn3 only
Louisiana Tech team page ; GoPack game preview with links to game notes and stats
The Wolfpack will look to get back in to the win column tonight at home against Louisiana Tech … After losing the “basketball game” against West Virginia on Saturday night in Madison Square Garden, the Pack return home to face another tough opponent in the Bulldogs. N.C. State struck out in their only road/neutral games in the non-conference portion of the schedule, so protecting home court now becomes that much more important.
La. Tech enters this contest having faced one common opponent with N.C. State – a 65-52 win over Jackson St. Two of their three losses have come against decent opponents, coming close but falling short at both Temple and Syracuse; the Bulldogs also lost at UL Lafayette. La. Tech doesn’t have any signature victories to speak of this season. Given the Bulldogs’ schedule, any hope of competing for an at-large NCAA berth may already be by the wayside – unless they basically run the table.
That’s not to suggest that La. Tech isn’t a pretty good team. The Bulldogs returned the majority of the team nucleus that won 29 games a season ago. The ’13-’14 edition of La. Tech finished in a four-way tie for first in C-USA, garnering the 1 seed in the C-USA Tournament before falling short to Tulsa in the title game. Even with the high number of victories, La. Tech’s overall schedule strength relegated them to the NIT.
This season, La. Tech was the consensus pick to win C-USA. The Bulldogs’ main challengers look to be Old Dominion and UTEP; Tulsa has moved on to the AAC. Part of the reason La. Tech was generally picked to win the conference was due to their retention of head coach Michael White. White, in his 4th season at La. Tech, flirted with the openings at both Missouri and Tennessee after the close of last season. White is on pace to record his third 20+ win season at La. Tech in four seasons and will likely be a rumored name for any potential power conference job opening after the season. Local tie: White is the son of Duke AD Kevin White.
As for style of play – guess what? They press. After handling Tennessee’s pressure fairly well, the Pack melted down in the first half against the physical, unrelenting pressure of West Virginia before looking mostly competent in the 2nd half. So, for the Wolfpack, another test – and opportunity – to get better and beat pressure.
Let’s see what happens! Hopefully the Wolfpack can put together a good game and enjoy the Christmas break from a basketball point of view. The Pack won’t be in action again until a week from tonight on December 30th. Please share your thoughts, enjoy the game, and Go Pack!
