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FRISCO, Texas – Memphis has their first title with Penny Hardaway as their coach, and these young Tigers could be up for more.
Boogie Ellis scored 23 points and Memphis was never behind after a quick start to beat Mississippi State 77-64 in the NIT Championship game on Sunday, closing Hardaway’s third season in training his alma mater after the Tigers missed their first NCAA tournament since 2013-14.
“We want to win championships, and NIT is just the start,” said Hardaway.
With no senior on the roster, the Tigers have won 11 of their last 13 games. The only setbacks in that span were a pair of one-time possession losses to Houston’s NCAA Elite Eight team.
“If this group wants to stay together, we will be really dangerous. We will be very dangerous because now we know the system,” said Hardaway. “Guys for the first time this year, they know how I coach, they know what I’m expecting, they know what the culture is, and they know what we have to buy so that we are champions next year at the next level. “
Landers Nolley II opened the second half with a jumper and 3 points that kept the Tigers (20-8) in the lead while winning the longest-running college basketball tournament for the second time – they were also champions NIT in 2002. Nolley was one. three sophomore starters for the Tigers, who also had a freshman and a junior among the starting five.
“We had a goal to cut the net in the NCAA tournament, but I feel like we should have been there,” said second goaltender Lester Quinones. “But I feel like it was kind of a message to show them that we kind of deserved to be there.”
Their 2002 NIT title was the spark of a strong NCAA tournament for the Tigers under John Calipari. Memphis made six of the next seven NCAAs, losing in overtime to Kansas in the 2008 Championship game.
Memphis led the NIT 13-0 final in under 7.5 minutes before missing 11 shots in a row and 21 of 26 before halftime. Mississippi State (18-15) tied the game at 33 points when Andersson Garcia managed a midfield steal and led for a layup to beat the halftime buzzer.
The Tigers then shot 67% after halftime (16 of 24) and hit first with Nolley’s baskets. The Tigers made 6 of 8 3s after the break, with Ellis hitting back-to-back long-range shots early on.
DJ Jeffries had 15 points for the Tigers, while DeAndre Williams had 12 points. Quinones had eight points with 16 rebounds and did an excellent defensive job against Bulldogs goaltender DJ Stewart, who was held to four points after averaging 21.7 in the first three NIT games.
Cameron Matthews paced Mississippi State with 19 points, while Deivon Smith had 17. Abdul Ado had eight points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs missed their first 10 shots before Smith’s 3-pointer with 12:42 left in the first half went 13-3. Garcia’s semifinal play was part of a 10-2 run in the final two minutes, but Mississippi State put in a turnover and missed two inside shots to open the second period.
“I wanted us to get off to a good start because of our weak start from the first, and that really didn’t happen,” said Bulldogs coach Ben Howland. “We struggled to score again to start the second half, and we struggled to get saves. And that allowed them to break through and take a six, eight point lead over us.”
FAR FROM THE BIG APPLE
After the NIT’s very first cancellation last year due to COVID-19, this year’s tournament was reduced from 32 to 16 teams and was played entirely in North Texas, over 1,500 miles from his usual home in New York. The semi-finals and the championship game were played outside Madison Square Garden for the first time in the event’s 83-year history.
STYMED BULLDOG PROTECTIONS
After being Mississippi State’s first player with three straight 20-point playoff games, Stewart was 1 in 10 in shooting and 0 in 5 of 3. Iverson Molinar, who had 25 points in the victory in semi-final against Louisiana Tech, finished with six of 2 of 7 points for Memphis.
“We won’t win a lot of games when DJ and Iverson are only 3 of 17,” Howland said.
CLOSE CALLS
Memphis’ last four losses were eight points combined. Houston, sixth, hit a 3-runner home to beat the Tigers 67-64 in the regular season final before winning 76-74 in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
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