Any way you slice it, Bulldogs are one of 20 teams left playing

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 22, 2007

March 22, 2007

The old joke goes something like this: What does NIT stand for?

Not Invited to the Tournament.

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Once upon a time, though, the National Invitation Tournament reigned over college basketball. Now it seems as a bit of an afterthought with the hype surrounding the 65-team NCAA Tournament.

But a postseason tournament it is and the Mississippi State Bulldogs are one of four teams left standing. Add to the 16 teams left in the NCAA Tournament and MSU is one of 20 teams in the country still suiting up to play ball.

MSU is scheduled to play West Virginia on Tuesday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden, proclaimed before each sporting event as &#8220the world’s most famous arena.”

While Bulldog supporters, like every other college team’s fans, would rather be in the NCAA Sweet 16, the NIT trip this season should be a one-time event – at least for the foreseeable future.

Of the 15 players on Mississippi State’s roster, 11 are either sophomores or freshmen. Senior Dietric Slater is the only Bulldog that sees extensive court time who will not return next season. Piotr Stelmach, a Polish import, averages a little less than eight minutes a game.

Despite winning a share of the SEC Western Division title, the Bulldogs bowed out of the SEC Tournament in the semifinals to Arkansas. The Razorbacks earned a berth in the Big Dance, while MSU went to the NIT.

Mississippi State should make the NCAA Tournament next season and have a high seed. But they won’t be the only ones in the Big Dance next season.

Andy Kennedy has things going in the right direction at Ole Miss, having tied for the SEC West crown with MSU this season.

In Hattiesburg, Southern Miss won more than 20 games for the first time since the 2000-01 season and started four freshmen. Jeremy Wise earned Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors and coach Larry Eustachy is close to returning USM to the postseason.

Of course one state team is still alive in the NCAA Tournament and if the Ole Miss Lady Rebels play like they did in a convincing win over defending national champion Maryland, they could be there for a while. If Ole Miss beats Oklahoma, it will likely play SEC rival Tennessee with a chance to go to the Final Four.

Excitement for basketball around here rides in cycles. We are lucky now to be in a positive cycle so enjoy it.

Maybe some of the success of the MSU and Ole Miss basketball teams will rub off on the schools’ football teams.

Then things will seem back to normal around here.