NEW ORLEANS — As I wait to board my flight back to Indianapolis, there’s still no official word from the NIT where Indiana State is headed for their Preseason NIT consolation round games.

That’s curious as it is now 11:30 a.m. (EDT). Pairings were expected to be announced by 9 a.m. today.

As I reported here and in the Tribune-Star, ISU coaches and administrators I talked to in Baton Rouge were certain they were headed to Western Kentucky next Monday and Tuesday. NIT selection committee chairman C.M. Newton was at LSU, so they likely got their info from him.

There’s no reason to believe at this time that WKU won’t be the destination. It’ll be interesting to see who ISU will be paired with because that could potentially be a tough region. Obviously, WKU is very difficult to beat in Diddle Arena. If seeds hold true, it’s conceivable No. 8-seeded Charlotte could be there too, though I don’t know how much the seeds mean as far as the consolation pairings go.

Had ISU gone to LSU, it would likely have got two winnable games as they could not have played the Tigers again. Then again, they would also have likely got two low RPI teams too.

A few other things …
[] Kevin McKenna said in the postgame press conference that it might have been a “blessing in disguise” that Jake Kelly got into first-half foul trouble. McKenna said it was a “blessing” because it helped Kelly stay fresh for the second half, helped him get to the basket and helped Kelly make plays.

Kelly’s foul trouble also got the ball in some other Sycamores’ hands in the first half which ultimately helped ISU overcome an early deficit.

[] McKenna also said Harry Marshall was “hurting” after Monday’s loss to LSU. Marshall played 25 minutes against Milwaukee.

[] McKenna had praise for Aaron Carter, who didn’t play against LSU on Monday. “He gave us 14 minutes of really intense basketball.” He also mentioned that he didn’t hear a peep of complaint out of Carter about not playing against the Tigers.

[] ISU had 31 points off the bench.

[] Josh Crawford still needs to work on his concentration on rebounds. He lost the grip on two sure rebounds — he was uncontested and had two hands on the ball in both cases — but managed to lose the ball which resulted in Milwaukee possessions. It’s hard enough for ISU to get boards, it can’t blow the ones it gets.

[] ISU was 60 percent from 3-point range in the first and second halves. Consistency, instead of spurts here and there, is the optimum for any team.

[] For those of you who listened to the radio broadcast and had technical difficulties, it wasn’t entirely the station’s fault. I was sitting next to Brian Fritz and there were technical problems within the Pete Maravich Center that were causing some of his difficulties. Apparently, the WKU radio crew had similar problems. I’m no engineer, so I have no earthly idea what the issue was, but I thought I’d pass it on.