Norman, Okla. ? Freshmen Brandon Foust and Drew Lavender combined for 34 points, and Johnnie Gilbert added 11 to lead Oklahoma past LSU, 70-61, in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night.

The Sooners, absent from the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, clinched their seventh consecutive 20-win season — quite an accomplishment considering their undersized lineup and reliance on four freshman in the final part of the season.

Oklahoma (20-10) moves on to face Michigan (19-11) in the second round.

Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs, rumored to be a candidate for the vacant SMU head coaching job, wasn’t on the bench during the game.

Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said he was on the road recruiting.

First round

Iowa State 82, Georgia 74

Ames, Iowa — Jackson Vroman scored 23 points, Curtis Stinson had 21, and Iowa State shot a school-record 74.4 percent in beating Georgia.

The Cyclones (18-12) were 17-for-21 from the field in the second half, but could not pull away until scoring 11 straight points to open a 68-56 lead with 3:37 left.

Georgia (16-14) hung with Iowa State by making 12 of 27 three-point shots. Most of Iowa State’s 29 field goals were layups or short jumpers.

Damien Wilkins went 5-for-6 from three-point range and led Georgia with 20 points.

Florida State 91, Wichita State 84, 2OT

Wichita — Tim Pickett scored 25 points to lead Florida State (19-13) to a pair of comebacks. Pickett hit three second-half three-point shots to help the Seminoles rally from a 14-point deficit.

In other first-round games, it was: Notre Dame 71, Purdue 59; Virginia 79, George Washington 66; Rutgers 76, Temple 71; Villanova 85, Drexel 70; Hawaii 85, No. 25 Utah State 74.

In opening-round games, it was: West Virginia 65, Kent State 54; Niagara 87, Troy State 83; George Mason 58, Tennessee 55; Rhode Island 80, Boston U. 52; Austin Peay 65, Belmont 59; Wisconsin-Milwaukee 91, Rice 63; Boise State 84, UNLV 69.