Monday NCAAB

The only CollegeInsiders.com Tournament contest being played Monday features the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks traveling to Kentucky to face the Murray State Racers at the CFSB Center.

The winner of this game will advance to the CIT quarterfinals and will face a team yet to be determined.

Nebraska Omaha, which was booted from the Summit League Tournament by IPFW in an overtime battle, took on the Big Sky Conference's North Dakota in the first round of the CIT. The Mavericks came away victorious in the contest, 91-75.

Murray State was dropped by eventual Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky in the semifinal round of the conference postseason. The Racers bounced back with a first-round win in the CIT over Missouri State, 66-63.

This clash between the Mavericks and the Racers represents the first time these programs will battle it out on the hardwood.

The victory for Nebraska Omaha over North Dakota in the first round of CIT action represented the very first Division I postseason win for the Mavericks in their school history. Omaha took a nine-point lead over North Dakota at the end of the first half, and only continued to increase that lead as the minutes ticked away in the second half. Mike Rostampour had a phenomenal game for the Mavericks, netting 16 points and pulling down a career-high 21 rebounds. John Karhoff paced Omaha in the scoring department with 17 points, while C.J. Carter chipped in 14 and Alex Phillips and Marcus Tyus each contributed 13 points in the win.

Carter and Karhoff top the Mavericks in scoring this season, with Crater leading the way with 13.9 ppg, adding a team high-tying 104 assists to his resume. Devin Patterson (10.0 ppg) shares the title of assists leader with Carter, and has recorded a team-best 55 steals. Karhoff adds 13.3 ppg for the Mavericks, and Justin Simmons chips in 10.1 ppg. Rostampour tops the squad with a 7.3 rpg mark.

Murray State trailed Missouri State by a single point at the end of the first half in the team's first-round CIT battle. But it was the Racers, led by Cameron Payne, who came back in the final seconds to clinch the three-point victory. Payne gave Murray State a one-point advantage, 64-63, by connecting on a jumper with 20 seconds left to play. Then a pair of free throws from the star freshman iced the win with seven seconds left. Payne scored 19 points in the win, but he was bested by teammate Jarvis Williams, who tallied a double- double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jeffery Moss rounded out the Racers' double-digit scorers in the outing with 10 points, pulling down eight boards.

Payne's stellar freshman season for Murray State continues for at least one more game. Payne, who fills the scoring void left by former Murray State star Isaiah Canaan, tops the team with a 16.3 ppg average, and also leads the Racers with 162 assists on the year. The big man Williams continues to be a force underneath the basket, averaging a double-double with 14.6 ppg and 10.4 rpg. T.J. Sapp contributes 14 ppg and Moss adds 13.3 ppg for Murray State, which scores 77.1 ppg as a unit.

NEBRASKA OMAHA +6.5

The National Invitation Tournament continues on to the second round on Monday night when the LSU Tigers visit Moody Coliseum to take on the SMU Mustangs.

The winner will move on to the quarterfinal round later this week to take on the survivor of the Arkansas/California matchup.

LSU improved to 20-13 overall this season by overcoming its road surroundings in last Wednesday's first-round matchup with San Francisco, as it took down a 71-63 victory. It took a three-point lead into intermission and never gave up the advantage in the second stanza, outshooting USF from the field, 46.3 percent to 41.5 percent, and outscoring it from 3-point range, 24-9. Jarell Martin led the way in the winning effort with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while Shavon Coleman and Johnny O'Bryant III netted 13 points apiece.

SMU (24-9) took out its NCAA Tournament snub frustrations on UC Irvine in the opening round last week with a 68-54 victory to improve to 16-1 at Moody Coliseum this season, overcoming a small halftime deficit to pull away in the second half. Although the Mustangs shot just 33.9 percent from the field on the evening, they were 23-of-34 at the free-throw line and scored 19 points off of 20 UCI turnovers. Cannen Cunningham came off the bench to score a game- high 17 points, Ben Moore and Nick Russell poured in 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Nic Moore handed out eight assists.

The four meetings in this series came in consecutive seasons from 1962-66, with each side coming away with two wins.

The Tigers have found success this season behind a stellar offensive attack, as they shoot 44.4 percent from the field for 74.9 ppg, but their play on the defensive end of the floor has not always been up to par (71.0 ppg). The team's strength comes in the frontcourt with O'Bryant III (15.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Jordan Mickey (12.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.1 bpg) making up an imposing duo, as both players shoot greater than 49 percent from the field. Also bringing regular contributions to the well-balanced scoring attack are Andre Stringer (11.7 ppg), Martin (10.4 ppg), Coleman (9.1 ppg) and Anthony Hickey (8.6 ppg, 3.7 apg).

Unlike LSU, the Mustangs have relied on outstanding defense this season, as they allow just 62.0 ppg on a mere 37.7 percent field goal shooting, the latter ranking fourth-best in the nation. SMU is also fortunate enough to boast a strong offense, knocking down 48.2 percent of its field-goal tries for 71.3 ppg. Moore acts as the catalyst from the backcourt with 13.5 ppg, 4.9 apg and 1.5 spg while putting up excellent percentages from 3-point range (.444) and the foul line (.843). Markus Kennedy (12.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg) and Russell (9.6 ppg) are also integral pieces of the puzzle.

LSU-SMU.....OVER 142

In the second round of the College Basketball Invitational, the Illinois State Redbirds play host to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas A&M, which lost three straight games to close out the regular season and play in the SEC Tournament, got started in the CBI with a 59-43 win over Wyoming. The victory was the first for the Aggies in the CBI. However, securing a second may be tough considering they have a record of 1-8 in true road games this season.

Illinois State took on Morehead State in its first-round matchup, and prevailed in a 77-67 decision. The Redbirds are now 17-15 on the season, with the win over Morehead State coming after they went 1-3 in their previous four games.

In the only previous meeting between these two teams, Illinois State collected a 74-66 road victory during the 1984-85 season. The winner this time around will have to wait for the conclusion of other second-round action to determine its next opponent.

It was a defensive struggle last Wednesday for the Aggies, but a struggle they managed to survive. Texas A&M limited Wyoming to just 29.8 percent shooting, while dominating on the inside with advantages in both rebounding (41-27) and points in the paint (26-14).

Low-scoring affairs are the norm for Texas A&M, which is averaging only 65 ppg and shooting 42.8 percent from the field. The Aggies make up for the limited production on offense, to an extent, by holding opponents to 62.8 ppg on 39.9 percent shooting, ranking among the top-30 teams in the country in each category. Jamal Jones (13.3 ppg) is the only player on the roster averaging in double figures, despite connecting on just 37 percent from the floor. However, Jones had only six points on 1-of-9 shooting against Wyoming. Kourtney Roberson (9.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Antwan Space (6.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) made up the difference, with each posting a double-double.

Illinois State benefited from plenty of opportunities at the free-throw line to overpower Morehead State. The Redbirds knocked down 29-of-40 attempts at the stripe, compared to a 13-of-21 showing from the Eagles. That advantage was key considering ISU only made 38.5 percent of its shots from the floor overall.

The Redbirds have been a better offensive group than the Aggies this season, but not by much. They are scoring 69.1 ppg, despite shooting at a 40.9 percent clip. Daishon Knight (13.2 ppg) is one of three double-digit scorers on the roster, although he is sinking only 36.8 percent of his attempts from the field. He finished with a team-high 18 points against Morehead State, doing so on 5-of-15 shooting. Zach Lofton (11.3 ppg) is also a double-digit scorer as well as an erratic shooter, netting 33.9 percent from the field. He missed the first round of this tournament and his status remains unclear. Bobby Hunter (10.7 ppg) is a more consistent finisher for the Redbirds, knocking down 49 percent of his field goal attempts.

ILLINOIS ST. -2