NIT 2015 Temple vs. Louisiana Tech: Live Updates and Analysis

Old Dominion, Stanford and Miami already punched their ticket for the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden but one spot remained for the winner of the Temple and Louisiana Tech game.

Temple jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, earning their ticket to New York City with a 77-59 victory over Louisiana Tech at the Liacouras Center.

The Bulldogs relied heavily on star Speedy Smith to help guide Louisiana Tech’s uptempo offense, but the senior point guard's night ended early due to an ankle injury in the second half. Fellow guard Alex Hamilton contributed a game-high 25 points in the No. 3 seed’s second-round win but could only muster four points against the Owls' stingy defense.

Temple halted Louisiana Tech's tournament run collecting their second win of the year over the Bulldogs. The Owls defeated Louisiana Tech 82-75 back in November.

Temple was soaring after an impressive offensive performance against George Washington in the second round of the NIT. Senior guard Will Cummings scored 51 points through the first two rounds, including 21 points in a 90-77 win over the Colonials. 

Cummings continued to produce, but his backcourt counterparts also came up big in the quarterfinal bout. Quenton DeCosey and Jesse Morgan scored 21 and 17 points respectively.

The Owl's ability to convert shots slowed down Louisiana Tech's high-speed offense as they could not get out in transition for easy buckets. Temple shot nearly 50 percent from the field primarily due to their stellar guards ability to create quality looks in isolation sets.

The No. 1 Temple Owls deservedly move on to the semifinals to face No. 2 seed Miami following their quarterfinal victory over Richmond.