Voir la source de Mississippi State Louisiana Tech To Bid For NIT Final

<br>It what is expected to be a dogged affair, Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech are set to meet in an NIT semifinal on Saturday at Frisco,  [https://acidfiles.com/ dark web] Texas.<br><br>Mississippi State (17-14) and Louisiana Tech (23-7) not only are both [https://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/search/?q=nicknamed nicknamed] Bulldogs, they both will enter as No. 4 seeds.<br><br>For Mississippi State, the big question is whether talented 6-10 center Tolu Smith will be available. He sat out the team's dramatic 68-67 win over Richmond on Thursday, reportedly due to COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing.<br><br>Smith leads his team in rebounds (8.4 per game) and ranks third in scoring (12.6 points).<br><br>Iverson Molinar leads Mississippi State in scoring (16.8 ppg), and D.J. Stewart tops the team in assists (3.1) while ranking second in scoring (16.2).<br><br>Mississippi State reached the semifinals by knocking off top-seeded Saint Louis 74-68 in the first round of the reduced 16-team event, then slipped past Richmond on a 3-pointer by Stewart with two seconds remaining.<br><br>"I was either going to lay the ball up or go for the win," Stewart said. "I chose to go for the win."<br><br>Besides his dramatic shot, Stewart is averaging 21.0 points in his two NIT games. Molinar is averaging 18.5 points in his two NIT games.<br><br>Stewart said defeating the Spiders was a group effort.<br><br>"Everybody knew they had a bigger role with Tolu out," Stewart said.<br><br>Louisiana Tech will be trying to defeat an SEC team for the second time in this tournament. On March 19, Tech defeated Ole Miss 70-61 as freshman Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored a season-high 22 points.<br><br>In a 72-65 quarterfinal victory over Western Kentucky on Thursday, the hero was Kalob Ledoux, who went 6 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points, tied for the game high.<br><br>Louisiana Tech set a program postseason record against Western Kentucky, making 11 three-pointers. The team shot 61.1 percent from distance.<br><br>"I'm so proud of our team," Tech coach Eric Konkol said. "Now it's just down to four of us (in the NIT semifinals)."<br><br>For the season, Tech is led in scoring by Isaiah Crawford (11.8 points per game), Ledoux (11.5) and Lofton (11.4).<br><br>Lofton is averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the two NIT games. Ledoux has made 23 three-pointers in his past seven games.<br><br>Louisiana Tech is 15-3 in its past 18 contests, including 8-1 over the most recent nine games.<br><br>Mississippi State leads the all-time series, 10-5, but Louisiana Tech won the most recent meeting in 2019 winning 74-67 on the road.<br><br>A victory would put Louisiana Tech in an NIT final for the first time in program history. Mississippi State lost its two previous NIT semifinal games, most recently in 2018.<br><br>--Field Level Media<br><br>