Top-Seeded State Hosts MVSU Tuesday In First Round Of Mastercard NIT
Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) is a 24-hour regional sports network serving approximately 5.5 million cable subscribers across 12 southeastern states. Within the state of Mississippi, CSS is available on Comcast in the cities of Corinth, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, Okolona, Tupelo/Fulton, West Point and Jackson. Bailey Cable carries CSS in Crystal Springs, Hazelhurst, Magee, Mendenhall and Terry, while Vista III airs the network in Oxford.
The Bulldogs enter this year's MasterCard NIT sporting an 18-13 overall record after claiming a share of their third SEC Western Division championship in the last five years. Most recently at the SEC Tournament in Atlanta, State dropped an 81-72 semifinal-round decision to NCAA Tournament entry Arkansas this past Saturday after claiming a dramatic 84-82 overtime victory over Kentucky in the quarterfinals. Having set new single-season school standards for most blocked shots (199) and most 3-pointers made (242) as a team, the Bulldogs continue to be powered by the all-SEC tandem of sophomore guard/forward Jamont Gordon (16.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg & 4.9 apg) and junior forward Charles Rhodes (13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg & 1.7 bpg).
Guided by second-year head coach and former Southern Mississippi head man James Green, Mississippi Valley State owns an 18-15 overall record and won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 13-5 league mark. At the recent SWAC Tournament held in Birmingham, the Delta Devils lost to Jackson State, 81-71, in the championship game after knocking off Alabama State (62-52) and Texas Southern (54-50). Featuring a well-balanced team statistically, MVSU is led in scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.1rpg) by junior guard Stanford Speech, a first-team all-SWAC performer hailing from Jackson's Jim Hill High School.
Participating in their sixth NIT in school history and third under Stansbury, the Bulldogs most recently advanced to the quarterfinals of the2001 NIT before losing to eventual champion Tulsa. With an all-time composite National Invitation Tournament record of 3-5, MSU has also previously participated in the NIT in 1999, 1994, 1990 and 1979.
In the only other previous hardwood meeting between Mississippi State and Mississippi Valley State, Stansbury's Bulldogs used a commanding 75-44 rebounding advantage, including a school-record 31 offensive rebounds, to coast to a 93-58 homecourt victory over the Delta Devils. In that contest six seasons ago (Nov. 21, 2000) at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum, Bulldog players Robert Jackson (17 pts/13 rebs), Tyrus Boswell (13/15) and Mario Austin(10/10) all registered double-doubles for the winners.