Start spreading the news.With Tuesday night’s 86-71 victory over Florida State, Mississippi State (21-13) has advanced to the National Invitational Tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The NIT semifinals appearance will be a first for the MSU program, its only other post-season semifinals appearance of any kind coming in the 1996 NCAA Final Four.
“I’m excited,” junior forward Charles Rhodes said. “It’ll mean a lot to this program. I don’t think we’ve ever won a national tournament. We want to bring one back to Starkville.”
The NIT semifinal will be March 27 against West Virginia. The two schools have never met.
“West Virginia is different,” MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “They have a very different style of play. They will be tough for anyone to match up with.”
MSU is 2-1 all-time in Madison Square Garden, the last trip being a two-game stint in 2004 during the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
The Bulldogs – who narrowly missed selection for the NCAA tournament – have destroyed their three NIT opponents, winning by an average margin of 21 points.
“We didn’t get the chance to make it to the Big Dance, but we’re going to take advantage of what we’ve got here,” sophomore guard Jamont Gordon said.
MSU’s last trip to the NCAA tournament was in 2005.
The team lost in the second round to Duke.
“I was two-and-done during my tournament days,” Rhodes said. “This is way better because we’ll be one of the final eight teams playing, four in the NCAA and four in the NIT. That’s a huge honor for our school.