Coach Ben Howland said before the 2021-22 campaign that Mississippi State’s run to the NIT championship game last season helped the young Bulldogs gain quite a bit of experience and could help them push for an NCAA tournament bid.
A year later, MSU is practically in the same exact spot.
The Bulldogs (18-15, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) earned the No. 3 seed in the 2022 NIT, earning the right to host a first-round game against Virginia. But because of renovations at Humphrey Coliseum, the Cavaliers will host the first-round contest instead at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.
Last season’s NIT was only 16 teams instead of the usual 32, and Mississippi State beat Saint Louis, Richmond and Louisiana Tech to reach the title game. Memphis captured the NIT championship with a 77-64 win.
Mississippi State was considered a likely NCAA tournament team, but a poor road record and a lack of NET Quadrant 1 wins cost the Bulldogs a bid. MSU went just 2-9 in Quad 1 games, well short of the mark it needed, and 1-9 on the road.
The Bulldogs beat South Carolina in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing to eventual champion Tennessee in the quarterfinals.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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