Louisiana Tech Preview: Don't Lose Hope

Louisiana Tech hammered Troy by 24 points in the opener of the CBE Classic then beat Southeast Missouri by 4 on Monday. They are 2-0, and have clinched the championship of the Chattanooga portion of the bracket. If they lose to the Mocs, they will hold the tiebreaker over the other two teams, regardless of who they are tied with. So the Bulldogs have already clinched the championship. The Mocs have already clinched finishing last in this portion, because even with a win, they would lose the tiebreaker.

The Mocs have lost to both Troy and Southeast Missouri. They had opportunities to win both games, though. They will now need to start proving they can shoot better. The Bulldogs are a very difficult challenge for the Mocs in this one. How will the Mocs respond to the challenge? How will Louisiana Tech respond? It's the third game in three days for both teams, so this could be a real test for both teams.

Louisiana Tech has been relying on Kenneth Smith. He leads the team in rebounding and assists. He is averaging 6.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He is 6-3. He is averaging 3.3 points per game. The Bulldogs really like Smith. He has gotten between four and eight rebounds every game, so it does not seem to be a fluke. However, he is doubling his rebounding average from a year ago. Will he be able to rebound against the Mocs?

The Bulldogs have three players averaging in double figures. Brandon Gibson is a 6-5 senior, and is averaging 11.3 points per game. He is only shooting 30.8% from the field, though. He has scored 21 points and has thirteen rebounds in Chattanooga so far over the past two games.

Raheem Appleby has been even better in Chattanooga. He is 6-3, and has scored 36 points in the past two games. He is shooting 38.5% from the floor so far this year. He is averaging 15.8 points per game on the year. He takes a lot of shots, taking 22 shots twice this year already.

Cordarius Johnson is the Bulldogs most consistent scorer. As a 6-5 guard, he has been making shots at a very nice clip this year. He is shooting 51.4% from the floor on the year. He scored 31 points so far in Chattanooga, and is averaging 14.5 points per game for the season. He is shooting 50% from three point range on the year. He is clearly the Bulldogs best shooter.

The Bulldogs have been playing well so far in Chattanooga. They rebounded well against Southeast Missouri. Michael Kyser is 6-9 and averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. He doesn't do much scoring, but he's a good rebounder.

The Mocs should be able to rebound with the Bulldogs. After all, they rebounded better than Southeast Missouri, and Louisiana Tech was outrebounded by the Redhawks. This is a very good rebounding Mocs team. Zlovaric and Mason are probably good enough offensively to win the inside battle, though that strategy did not particularly work against Troy, when Zlovaric only got six shots. He should have gotten at least ten shots against the Trojans. He and Mason need to combine for a lot closer to twenty shots against the Bulldogs.

Will the Mocs make more shots? Will they make more free throws? It's almost impossible to know.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs will outrebound Louisiana Tech- not by a ton, but by enough.
--Cordarius Johnson will make a bunch of threes.
--The athleticism of Casey Jones, Gee McGhee, Eric Robertson, and Farad Cobb will again be on display for at least a few plays.
--Without Lance Stokes (out for up to six weeks with a broken bone in his foot), Sam Watson and Jared Bryant will need to step up. Bryant will be particularly necessary on the glass. He'll shine.
--Rico White will continue his improved scoring from the Troy game.
--Louisina Tech 72, Mocs 64. The Mocs simply have not knocked down shots yet. Will they finally start knocking them down? They could start making shots in this one. If they do, the Mocs could certainly come up with the upset. There's no reason to believe tonight is this night is the one that the shots start falling. I do believe they will eventually. But I'm not sure when it will be. The Mocs have been playing very well other than the shooting woes. What am I watching for? I'm watching to make sure the Mocs keep on doing those little things. The shots will eventually fall.

GO MOCS!