The Ninth-seeded LSU Tigers faces 8th seed North Carolina State tonight in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The oddsmakers have the Wolfpack as a two-point favorite. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham says it’s hard game to decide who will win….

cut 17 (13) “of the ball”

Worsham says for LSU to win, they’ll need great performances from their two big men, Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:20PM and you can watch on TBS.

Former Ragin Cajun star Elfrid Payton had his first career triple-double last night in the Orlando Magic’s 107-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The rookie from Gretna scored 15 points and added 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

In the College Basketball Invitational, ULM got past Eastern Michigan 67-71. The Warhawks were lead by Tylor Ongwae’s 26 points, followed by Jamaal Samuel’s 15. ULM advances to the CBI quarterfinal round where they’ll travel to Macon, Georgia to take on Mercer Monday night at 6.

Northwestern State takes the court tonight in the CollegeInsider-dot-com Tournament. In the final first round game, the Demons welcome the University of Tennessee at Martin. Tipoff is at 6:30. The winner will travel to face the University of South Carolina Upstate Saturday afternoon.

U-L Lafayette’s second round game in the CIT has been announced. The Cajuns will hit the road again, this time to take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats. That game will tip off at Saturday at 2PM.

And in the second round of the N-I-T. Louisiana Tech will play Texas A-and-M in College Station. The game will take place on Monday, with the tipoff scheduled for 6PM. That game will be televised and you can watch on ESPN.