Louisiana Tech at LSU

Braylon Wenger scored 28 as Louisiana Tech beat Kent State 85-75 on Monday, November 2, and the Bulldogs led by as many as 19 in the second half. They shot 52% from the field and scored 41 in the first half and 44 in the second. Three days later they held Arkansas-Monticello, a Division II program, to 6-of-38 shooting in a 76-17 win. The Kent State game is the one that carries weight, because it came against a Division I defense. LSU is 2-0 with a 100-57 win over LSU New Orleans and a 92-51 win over Texas Southern, margins of 43 and 41 points. The Tigers have allowed 57 and 51 points in those two games. Louisiana Tech has scored 85 and 76 in its two games and kept scoring through both halves against Kent State. That steady scoring is what keeps a visitor from getting buried. Big home favorites often let off the gas once the lead is secure, and that tends to compress the final margin. Backing a road underdog at this size means taking a number built on two blowouts of lesser opponents. Back Louisiana Tech on the spread tonight, where a defense that held Kent State to 25% from three gives LSU's shooters no easy start.