Missouri State (26-8) gets ready for their second round NIT game the Miami Hurricanes (20-14) of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 6 p.m. (Central) is the featured game on ESPN. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Hurricanes, and both teams are coming off solid NIT first-round wins.

Missouri State shot 55.1 percent from the field and 81.8 percent at the free throw line to turn back visiting Murray State, 89-76, before 5,089 fans at JQH Arena on March 15. Jermaine Mallett (Sr., G, Jackson, Miss.) posted a career-high 23 points and tied a school record for points in an NIT game while going 9-for-10 at the line. Mallett led a core of five Bears in double figures, including 12 off the bench from Nathan Scheer (Fr., F, Washington, Mo.) and 14 from the MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weems (Jr., F, Topeka, Kan.). MSU out-rebounded the Racers by a 32-22 margin and knocked down eight threes on the night.