Scouting Louisiana Tech

NC State has upgraded its non-conference schedule this season, and another example of that is hosting Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m. Saturday at PNC Arena.

Louisiana Tech went 24-8 overall and 12-4 in CUSA last year, falling to Colorado State 76-74 in the consolation game of the NIT. CSU also knocked out NC State in the NIT. Louisiana Tech was eliminated from an NIT title run with a 84-62 loss vs. Mississippi State in the semifinals.

Three starters return for Louisiana Tech, though one has been dinged up this season. The Bulldogs are off to a 4-1 start with the lone loss in the season opener Alabama, 93-64.

The last time the Wolfpack (4-1) played Louisiana Tech, Mark Gottfried was coaching NCSU and current Florida coach Mike White was coaching the Bulldogs. Trevor Lacey scored 20 points and NC State won 73-65 on Dec. 23, 2014.

Louisiana Tech was picked to finish second in the Conference USA preseason poll.

Louisiana Tech was blown out by Alabama in the season opener 93-64 on Nov. 9, and had quite a battle against Jackson State from the SWAC. Louisiana Tech pulled out a 70-68 win over JSU on Nov. 12.

The Bulldogs feasted on defeating Jarvis Christian, Northwestern State and Louisiana-Monroe, with the latter on Wednesday.

Rankings

Louisiana Tech finished No. 71 in the NET rankings last year.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Bulldogs currently ranked No. 115 overall, and NC State is No. 64.

KenPom.com has Louisiana Tech at No. 100, and NCSU checks in at No. 67.

RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 113 in the country, and Louisiana Tech is No. 155.

Shooting

Louisiana Tech is shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 35.9 percent on three-pointers and just 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Louisiana Tech has three guards who are threats from beyond the arc — Keaston Willis, Amorie Archibald and David Green. They are a combined 33 of 74 for 44.6 percent this season. Willis made 36.6 percent from three-point land last year at Incarnate Word, where he averaged 18.9 points per game. He's 18 of 37 this season for blistering 48.6 percent, and went 7 of 12 from beyond the arc against UL-Monroe.

Rebounding

Lofton is a gifted rebounder and is averaging 10.2 boards a contest. He does need help and one cog might miss the game against NC State. Power forward Isaiah Crawford has missed the games against both Northwestern State and Louisiana Monroe. He is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in three games.

Louisiana Tech collectively is averaging 38.8 rebounds per game, which is 1.8 more than its opponents. Lofton has 22 offensive rebounds and Hunter has 11.

Defense

The Bulldogs have held opponents to 42.3 percent from the field and 31.0 percent on three-pointers. Lofton has seven blocks and backup center Kenny Hunter has four, but the Bulldogs do have 40 steals in five games.

Sophomore point guard Cobe Williams anchors the defense and was named to the Conference USA all-defensive squad last year. He had 34 steals in 31 games last year.

Depth

Freshman forward David Green played for Hofstra last year, where he averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game in 18 contests (10 starts). The 6-7, 215-pounder comes in off the bench for Louisiana Tech for 14.4 minutes per game, and he averages 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds a contest.

The Bulldogs depth took a hit against Northwestern State and UL-Monroe with starter Crawford not playing. He averaged 11.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 32 games last year (21 starts). Willis moved into the starting lineup against Northwestern State.

Freshman center Kenny Hunter, who is 6-10 and 235 pounds, and freshman wing LaDamien Bradford, are both part of the rotation. Bradford played in 14 games at Texas A&M last year.

Louisiana Tech second-year freshman center Kenneth Lofton Jr. has become an unlikely star for the Bulldogs.

He was an unrated prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial High, but did have offers from Georgetown and Akron. At 6-foot-7 and likely north of 275 pounds, he didn’t have the typical center build, but he became an impact performer right away for Louisiana Tech last year.

Lofton averaged 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game last year, and shot 56.7 percent from the field and 59.6 percent from the free-throw line. He became a star in Louisiana Tech’s deep run in the NIT Tournament.

Lofton averaged 20 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in four NIT contests, including having 27 points and 13 rebounds in a 76-74 win over Colorado State in the consolation game. Lofton also had 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against SEC foe Mississippi State in the semifinals. He had nine double-doubles last year for points and rebounds, and scored at least 20 points in five games.

Lofton already has a pair of double-doubles this season. He had 12 points and nine rebounds in a 93-64 loss at Alabama in his toughest opponent of the season. He’s averaging 14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game this season, and is shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 60.5 percent from the free-throw line.

NC State

PG — 3 Cam Hayes (6-3, 180, Soph., 11.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg)

SG — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, Jr., 11.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.0 apg)

SF — 1 Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180, R-Soph., 20.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.2 spg)

PF — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 200, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.6 apg)

C — 21 Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 225, Soph., 2.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.0 apg, 1.0 bpg)

Louisiana Tech

PG — 24 Cobe Williams (6-0, 180, Soph., 6.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.4 spg)

SG — 3 Amorie Archibald (6-3, 185, Sr., 12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg)

G — 0 Keaston Willis (6-3, 190, Soph., 14.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.2 apg)

F — 21 Exavian Christon (6-4, 200, Sr., 3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.4 spg)

C — 2 Kenneth Lofton Jr. (6-7, 275, Fr., 14.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.4 bpg)

13.1: Points per game for center Kenneth Lofton Jr. while helping Team USA win the FIBA under-19 World Cup gold medal.

20: The Bulldogs have won 20-plus games in eight of the last nine years.

189: Overall wins since Louisiana Tech joined Conference USA in 2013-14, which is most of any league member.

Senior shooting guard Amorie Archibald will end up being the rare five-year starter for the Bulldogs. He started 17 of 29 games his freshman year in 2017-18, and has started all but four games the last four years.

The 6-3, 185-pounder form Deltona, Fla., has averaged double figures in every season but his freshman campaign. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game last year, and he shot 35.9 percent from the field and 31.2 percent on three-pointers. Archibald had 22 points and went 5 of 7 on three-pointers in a 82-66 win over Texas-San Antonio on Jan. 16, 2021. Archibald has made 111 starts and played in 127 career games, and became the 43rd player in school history in reaching the 1,000-point club.

Archibald is off to a hot start from beyond the arc, going 9 of 18 on three-pointers this season. He’s also a quality free-throw shooter, and is 76.8 percent for his career. Archibald did struggle against Alabama, with three points on 1 of 6 shooting.

NC State shooting guard Casey Morsell got off to a hot start in the first two games, scoring a combined 35 points. However, he’s shot 7 of 24 from the field for 23 points the last three games. The Virginia transfer is averaging 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in five games.

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