If it weren’t for a plethora of opt-outs by other institutions, Mississippi State likely wouldn’t have even been in the NIT.
But the Bulldogs earned an invite nevertheless. Two weeks later, they will play for an NIT championship for the first time in program history after dismantling Louisiana Tech 84-62 in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
MSU (18-14) will face Memphis in the title game at 11 a.m. Sunday.
“It feels good,” said MSU sophomore guard Iverson Molinar, who had a career-high 25 points in the win. “This (run) prepares us for next year and we’re just excited for it.”
The matchup was a rout from start to finish, as the Bulldogs never trailed and led by double digits for the majority of the contest. Fresh off a game-winning shot against Richmond in the NIT quarterfinals Thursday, D.J. Stewart came out of the gates blistering hot by making his first five shots, including three 3-pointers, en route to giving his team a 17-7 lead. Stewart finished with 23 points.
“I thought that D.J. got us off to a great start,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “They were all good shots, and it really gave us a lift and gave us a lot of confidence. D.J. is our leader and he wanted to get us going today.”
MSU won its second game in a row without its best post scoring presence in Tolu Smith, who didn’t play because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. Howland said Smith “is absolutely fine” and has tested negative four consecutive days. His status for Sunday is uncertain.
“(Our team) has done a great job picking up the slack,” Howland said. “It’s really tough for Tolu right now. He’s caught up in protocol that we have absolutely no control over.”
The other Bulldog in double figures was Derek Fountain, who had 15 points and six rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
“I’m just going to stay humble and continue to keep pushing,” Fountain said.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Louisiana Tech (23-8), which will face Colorado State in the NIT third-place game Sunday. The Bulldogs, not normally a stellar 3-point shooting team, were 10-of-20 from beyond the arc, marking only the fourth time this season they’ve made double-digit 3-pointers.
MSU now turns its attention to facing Memphis in the NIT championship.
“They’ll be a lot of eyes on this game,” Howland said. “Memphis is the real deal, they’re very well-coached. They have great personnel and play a unique style because they’re constantly trapping and pressing.”
DAWG NOTES: In their last four NIT appearances, the Bulldogs have made the Final Four three times, but never secured a spot in the championship until Saturday. MSU made the title game as a No. 4 seed after taking down No. 1 Saint Louis in the opening round then advancing against Richmond in the quarterfinals before dismantling Louisiana Tech. … Howland has referred to MSU’s NIT run as a springboard for next season on multiple occasions. Referencing the last 10 championship games, four of the past 10 NIT champions made the NCAA tournament the following year (counting Texas making it this year after winning in 2019 because the 2020 tournament was obviously canceled). Five of the last 10 runner-ups made it the next year, but not since Miami was the runner up in 2015.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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