Southern Methodist 80, Louisiana State 67: Nic Moore and Nick Russell each scored 16 points to lead the host Mustangs to the second round NIT victory.

Markus Kennedy scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds and Keith Frazier and Shawn Williams added 11 points apiece for SMU (25-9), which shot 58 percent and connected on 9-of-14 from 3-point range. The Region 1 top-seeded Mustangs will host either No. 2 seed California or No. 3 Arkansas on Wednesday night with the winner earning a trip to Madison Square Garden for the NIT semifinals on April 1.

Johnny O'Bryant III scored 16 points and had seven rebounds to lead fifth-seeded LSU (20-14). Andre Stringer came off the bench to score 15 points, making five 3-pointers, while Jordan Mickey finished with 14 points and four blocks and Jarell Martin chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers.

SMU came into the contest ranked fifth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (37.7) but LSU shot 48.4 percent from the floor, including 5-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, while building a 40-35 halftime lead. The Tigers led by as many as 10 points on a highlight-reel fast-break dunk by Martin off a lob pass from point guard Anthony Hickey, but the Mustangs closed the half with a 7-2 run highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by Russell.

Moore scored 11 consecutive points to fuel a opening 13-3 second-half spurt to put SMU ahead, 48-43. O'Bryant's free throw cut the Mustang lead to 50-47, but SMU answered with a 17-6 run over the next nine minutes to take control of the game and LSU never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: SMU improved to 17-1 at home this season. ... The Mustangs finished with 22 assists on their 33 field goals, just one off their season high. ... Stringer finished the season with 74 3-pointers, eighth-best in school history.