College Basketball Roundup

Monday, November 27th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) â€” Illinois coach Bill Self refuses to accept that the ninth-ranked Illini are tired after three games in Hawaii, a draining flight home and a victory over a winless opponent.

Especially with a Tuesday date with No. 1 Duke pending.

Reserve guard Sean Harrington scored a career-high 17 points as Illinois mustered enough effort to beat Texas Southern 86-57 on Sunday.

Self was not pleased with some players' lack of focus against winless Texas Southern (0-3). He did not want to hear any excuses.

``That's just mind over matter,'' Self said. ``If your brain tells your body it's tired, you're tired. If your brain says you're not, you're fine. We can rest when we're done with Duke.''

In another game involving a Top 25 team, No. 14 Oklahoma beat Oregon State 78-60 in the finals of the Big Island Invitational.

Tuesday's game at Greensboro, N.C., comes on the heels of a pair of tough games against ranked opponents for the Illini. Illinois defeated then-No. 3 Maryland by 10 points in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, then lost by three points to then-No. 1 Arizona in the final.

The Illini were a half-step slow Sunday, but had enough to handle Texas Southern â€” thanks in a large part to Harrington.

A sophomore, Harrington finished off the Tigers midway through the second half when he hit three consecutive 3-pointers to lead a devastating run that gave the Illini a 30-point lead, 70-40. He ended with five 3-pointers.

``When you get the open looks, you've got to knock them down,'' Harrington said. ``I was feeling pretty good, but the guys were giving me the ball in spots where I could score.''

Texas Southern fought back in the second half. Helped by 11 free throws, the Tigers went on a 23-8 run, closed to 78-63 with 4:11 remaining, but were unable to complete their comeback try.

``We start some people who never played college basketball before a week ago,'' TSU coach Robert Moreland said. ``We just wanted to introduce them to some real college basketball so hopefully we'll be better down the line.''

Chris Miller finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for Texas Southern. Ricky Bennett added 13 points and Steve Hoyer 11.

Illinois got solid contributions from most of its regulars, including 16 points and eight rebounds from center Marcus Griffin.

No. 14 Oklahoma 78, Oregon St. 60

J.R. Raymond made five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points as the Sooners won the Big Island Invitational championship in Hilo, Hawaii.

Hollis Price, the tournament MVP, and Kelley Newton each scored 10 for the Sooners, who dominated the boards and outrebounded Oregon State 29-16.

Deaundra Tanner led Oregon State with 14 points. Brian Jackson added 12 and Jason Heide 11.