Louisiana Tech @ Mississippi State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 10, 2007 ) Louisiana Tech 45, Mississippi St. 75

Mississippi State returns to its home gym for the first time in nearly three weeks and plays its first game in nearly two when it hosts Louisiana Tech in a battle of Bulldogs on Thursday. Mississippi State bounced back from its first loss of the season - a seven-point setback against No. 22 Villanova - to rout Coastal Carolina 81-56 on Nov. 24 in the third-place game at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Including Thursday, coach Ben Howland's team has three more games before it gets standout junior guard Nick Weatherspoon back from a 10-game suspension, and there was a sense in South Carolina that Mississippi State could take off when that occurs. "I think I learned, especially after playing a really good Villanova team, three more games before we get Nick back, that we're going to be a really good team," Howland told reporters at the tournament in Myrtle Beach. "We have a chance to be very, very good. ... Adding Nick to the mix is going to make us even better." Louisiana Tech, picked to finish third in Conference USA, has five wins by an average of 30.8 points. The latest one-sided victory was a 78-57 triumph over Samford at home Saturday.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (5-2): The Bulldogs entered Wednesday ranked 31st in the country in field-goal percentage defense (37.3) and 12th in turnover margin (6.6 fewer per game), and the win over Samford offered further proof as to how tough the team can be on that end of the floor. "We want to be able to turn people over in different ways," coach Eric Konkol told reporters. "Our defensive mindset is having really active hands. I think our guys are really realizing how those types of defensive plays, those deflections, can turn into really good offense." Junior guard Kalob Ledoux leads a balanced attack on the other end with 11.9 points per game after scoring a season-high 23 against Samford.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (6-1): Senior guard Tyson Carter has made the Weatherspoon situation easier to handle by averaging a team-high 17.6 points and 4.7 assists per game, and he had 19 along with a season-high 10, respectively, against Coastal Carolina. Four others are averaging double figures in scoring, with sophomores Reggie Perry (14.7) and Robert Woodard II (12.1) combining for 17.2 rebounds per contest. Perry hit all three of his 3-point tries and also had a career high in assists with six last time out.

TIP-INS

1. Louisiana Tech senior G DaQuan Bracey had 14 points and a season-high seven assists against Samford.

2. Mississippi State's next game on Dec. 14 is against Kansas State in Newark, N.J., as part of the Never Forget Tribute Classic.

3. Mississippi State has won 10 of the last 11 meetings.

PREDICTION: Mississippi State 75, Louisiana Tech 67