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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament will feature the University of Evansville facing off against Louisiana on Thursday evening in Blackham Coliseum.
 
A 17-2 run to open the second half helped the Purple Aces earn an 83-68 win at Eastern Illinois in the second round of the CIT on Monday evening in Charleston, Ill.  After shooting 50% against IPFW in the CIT opener, UE kicked it into high gear against the Panthers, finishing at 53.3%, including 59.4% in the second half.
 
D.J. Balentine followed his season-high of 35 points with 22 at EIU; he was 9/18 from the field and 4/7 from outside.  Egidijus Mockevicius posted his second double-double in as many postseason tilts with 21 points and a season-high 16 boards.  As a team, the Aces outrebounded the Panthers by a 42-28 final.
 
Evansville has been dominant in its two CIT games, leading by at least 23 points in each game.  By defeating Eastern Illinois, 83-68, the Aces posted their largest margin of victory in a DI postseason game with its 15-point margin.  It was the largest postseason win since the Aces topped SW Louisiana by a 93-74 margin in the 1971 NCAA Championship season.  The margin was also the largest in a road postseason game since UE topped Lincoln (Mo.) by a 95-80 final in the 1968 NCAA Tournament.
 
Louisiana is one of the top teams remaining in the final eight of the CIT as they are 22-13 overall and have won 9 of their last 10 games.  They are led by Shawn Long, who has averaged 16.2 points per game; he along with D.J. Balentine are two of the top five scoring juniors in the nation.  Jay Wright was the hero for UL in their victory at Sam Houston State on Saturday; his triple with 0.9 remaining lifted the Ragin Cajuns to a 71-70 victory.  One of the top rebounding teams in the nation, Louisiana averages 39.66 caroms, which is seventh in the country.
 
The Aces have won both meetings against the Ragin Cajuns.  The last meeting came in the 1971 NCAA Tournament as the Aces defeated Southwestern Louisiana (as they were known as at that time) by a final of 93-74 at Roberts Stadium on their way to the school's fifth NCAA National Championship.