Bulldogs take on Cornhuskers in NIT
Published 8:00 am Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Five months ago, Nebraska came to Starkville to face Mississippi State in a hastily-arranged exhibition game where the proceeds went toward hurricane relief efforts.
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland remembered it as a good game for his team’s development, but didn’t put a lot more stock into it than that when the teams were matched up again for the first round of the NIT.
“That’s a long time ago. That was, like, three weeks into practice. Both teams have evolved and changed,” Howland said at a press conference following the announcement of the NIT field.
Nebraska (22-10) will makes its second trip to Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night to take on the Bulldogs (22-11) in a game with much higher stakes than that exhibition on Oct. 22.
The winner will go on to face either Baylor or Wagner in the second round, while the loser barely even gets to enjoy college basketball’s consolation prize.
Mississippi State only has one senior on the roster — walk-on guard Drew Davis — and Howland seemed happy with giving his young, improving team some postseason experience no matter what happens. This is Mississippi State’s first trip to either the NIT or NCAA Tournament since 2012.
“We don’t have a senior. We don’t have anybody that’s played in the postseason. This is a great experience,” Howland said. “I definitely think it’s a plus leading up to the next year, especially when you have the group that’s returning playing in the tournament.”
Nebraska coach Tim Miles, on the other hand, was not as happy about being shuttled off to the NIT instead of the NCAA Tournament — and receiving a No. 5 seed in the NIT as well.
The Cornhuskers finished 13-5 in the Big Ten and beat conference champion Michigan by 20 points in January. They also lost to Michigan by 19 in their first game at the Big Ten Tournament, as well as to conference powers Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State in the regular season. There was also a one-point loss to Kansas, one of the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, in December.
The Cornhuskers are only the second Big Ten team since 1985 to finish with at least 22 wins and not make the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska’s 22 wins were the third-most in program history and its 13 conference wins set a school record. Miles felt that should have been good enough to at least get a higher seed and a home game in the NIT.
The higher seed hosts games through the quarterfinals, so if the other seeds hold then Nebraska will go on the road for the entire tournament.
“I really do feel like we got slapped in the face,” Miles said at a press conference Sunday night. “You know, it is what it is. We can still do something about it. I think that’s the good news. I hope we rally and respond and the guys feel the same way I do.”
Even Howland was surprised at Nebraska being a 5-seed.
“When you think of Nebraska being 13-5 in the Big Ten and to be a 5-seed, was a little surprising to me because they’ve been very, very good,” Howland said.
When they take the court Wednesday night, the Bulldogs will be without one of their best players.
Nick Weatherspoon suffered a hip injury and then was stepped on by a Tennessee player during Friday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament game.
Weatherspoon was taken off the court on a stretcher and spent Friday night in a St. Louis hospital. Howland didn’t address Weatherspoon’s possible head and neck injuries, but did say the hip injury would keep him out of Wednesday’s game and a possible second-round game.
Howland said Weatherspoon could return if the Bulldogs make it to the semifinals in New York, but that he wouldn’t rush the junior guard’s recovery
Weatherspoon is Mississippi State’s second-leading scorer at 11.1 points per game.
“There is some slight bruising of the bone, but not in a significant way which is good news. I do not anticipate him playing Wednesday night for sure,” Howland said. “We’re not going to rush him back. We’re going to be very conservative like we would with any injury. There’s no plan to say we’re shutting him down. We’re hoping there’s a possibility he could play.”
NEBRASKA AT MISS. STATE
• NIT, First round
• Wednesday, 8 p.m.
• TV: ESPN2; Radio: 105.5 FM