NIT ROUNDUP : Indiana Is Too Much for Murray State

Indiana ran its motion offense, but the easiest points came when the Hoosiers were standing still during a 103-80 victory over Murray State Wednesday night at Bloomington, Ind., in the first round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament.

Indiana (1-0) took a 53-36 halftime lead and increased it to as many as 27 points as the Racers (0-1) repeatedly sent the Hoosiers to the foul line.

Indiana made 37 of 42 free throws, including 12 of 13 by Greg Graham, who had a game-high 22 points.

“I guess we concentrate more on free throws,” Graham said. “I mean . . . free throws are free throws. That’s why they call them free throws.”

Indiana will play host to Tulane in a quarterfinal Friday night.

No. 9 Florida St. 89, Siena 80--Bobby Sura and Sam Cassell scored 24 points apiece to lead the Seminoles past the first round at Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State (1-0) will play host to No. 19 Iowa State in a quarterfinal Friday night.

Florida State’s Chuck Graham left the game early in the first half after his left knee buckled as he spun toward the basket. He will be examined today to determine the extent of the injury.

Senior guard Mike Brown scored 28 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Siena (0-1).

No. 17 Tulane 70, Wagner 54--Anthony Reed scored 20 points--six in the first three minutes of the game--to lead the Green Wave past the first round at New Orleans.

Tulane (1-0) scored the first 12 points of the game and Wagner could only cut the lead to 11 twice in the second half.

Miladin Mutavdzic led the Seahawks (0-1) with 19 points.

No. 19 Iowa St. 84, Indiana St. 69--Julius Michalik scored a career-high 24 points and helped the Cyclones pull away in the second half of a first-round game at Ames, Iowa.

Justus Thigpen added 19 points for Iowa State (1-0), which returns all five starters from last season’s 21-13 team. The Cyclones were leading, 37-34, early in the second half when Michalik sparked them to a 58-38 lead.

Texas El Paso 90, George Mason 71--Eddie Rivera scored 19 points and Texas El Paso used a 25-7 run late in the first half to win a first-round game at El Paso.

The Miners (1-0) will play UCLA (1-0) Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.