Virginia gets Mississippi State, designated a three seed, in a first-round NIT game that will be played in Charlottesville on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Virginia (19-13) is not seeded in the draw, but will host because Mississippi State (18-15) has renovations scheduled to begin on its home arena, Humphrey Coliseum.
So, not seeded, home game anyway.
Which may work out to Virginia’s advantage. The Bulldogs were 14-3 at home this season, but just 1-9 on the road, that lone win coming at 12-21 Missouri on Feb. 20.
MSU finished 8-10 in the SEC, its best win coming (predictably) at home over NET 20 Arkansas back on Dec. 29.
The other Quad 1 win for the Bulldogs came at home on Jan. 15 vs. NET 30 Alabama.
State fell in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals to eventual champ Tennessee, 72-59, on Friday.
About Mississippi State
The roster includes three players who average double-digits in scoring – 6’3” junior point guard Iverson Molinar (17.6 ppg, 3.6 assists/g, 45.2% FG, 25.5% 3FG), 6’11” junior Tolu Smith (14.1 ppg, 6.3 rebs/g, 57.1% FG) and 6’9” North Carolina transfer Garrison Brooks (10.3 ppg, 6.6 rebs/g, 45.8% FG, 33.3% 3FG).
Coach Ben Howland will go eight or nine deep with his rotation – with 6’7” junior DJ Jeffries (9.2 ppg, 4.3 rebs/g, 42.6% FG, 29.3% 3FG) starting at three and 6’1” sophomore Shakeel Moore (8.8 ppg, 39.8% FG, 32.4% 3FG) at the two spot, and 6’3” freshman Cam Carter (2.3 ppg, 8.7 mins/g) backing up at the one and 6’7” sophomores Andersson Garcia (4.3 ppg, 14.6 mins/g) and Cameron Matthews (3.0 ppg, 18.5 mins/g) getting minutes at three and four.
Ticket Information
Tickets are now available online at UVATIX.com. Tickets are priced at $14 for lower-level reserved seating and $12 for upper-level general admission seating.
Parking will be available at the JPJ West lot as well as the attached garage for $10 prepaid online and $15 on the day of the game. Prepaid parking can be purchased online at UVATIX.com.
Story by Chris Graham
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