Excited Bulldogs begin NIT play

Not even Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland was all that sure the Bulldogs were going to get the chance to play postseason basketball this year. After MSU lost out in the SEC Tournament, Howland said his team had an outside shot at getting into the NIT.

Fast-forward to the present though and the Bulldogs are indeed still balling. They'll open up play in the NIT Saturday at 4 p.m. central and everyone from Howland on down is proud to be playing.

"I was hopeful by saying we had an outside chance," Howland said. "I’m just glad it worked out for us. I’m excited that we’re playing in (the NIT).

"The last time we were in the NIT was a great experience for us [in 2018], and it led us to New York in the [NIT] Final Four. I thought it really helped us in the following year to make a run to get to the NCAA Tournament during Quinndary [Weatherspoon’s] senior year. It’s a great tournament with great history and great tradition. We are a young team. Any time you can get some postseason experience, I think it helps kids."

State's first-round opponent is a Saint Louis team that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament.

The Billikens, under the direction of former Kentucky guard Travis Ford, come into the NIT having won seven of their last 10 outings headed by a victory over Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champion St. Bonaventure. Saint Louis also knocked off LSU and North Carolina State during non-conference play.

Can MSU get past Saint Louis to keep its season alive? Here's how you can follow along to see, along with comments from Howland's pre-NIT media session. You can also view Howland's full press conference with the video at the top of this page.

What: Mississippi State (15-14) vs. Saint Louis (14-6)
Where: Comerica Center – Frisco, Texas
When: 4 p.m. central on Saturday, March 20, 2021
TV/Video: ESPN, Online via ESPN.com/ESPN App
Radio/Audio: Mississippi State Sports Radio Network (click here for full list of affiliates), online at Hailstate.com and the TuneIn radio app.

Comments from Ben Howland's pre-NIT media session:

Question: What was the reaction of the team and yourself when you heard you were in the NIT?

Ben Howland: “I was excited, honestly. The last time we were in the NIT was a great experience for us here [in 2018], and it led us to New York in the [NIT] Final Four. I thought it really helped us in the following year to make a run to get to the NCAA Tournament during Quinndary [Weatherspoon’s] senior year. It’s a great tournament with great history and great tradition.”

“We are a young team. Any time you can get some postseason experience, I think it helps kids. There’s only the 68 plus 16 teams that are playing. It’s 84 teams [playing in the postseason], everybody else is done. I’m excited for our guys.”

“Our guys had Saturday and Sunday off with obviously a tough loss with the way we got beat by Alabama, but I reminded them that Alabama beat LSU at LSU by 30 [points]. Alabama beat Arkansas by 31 [points]. Those teams are really good teams. Those teams bounced back, and they were incredible down the stretch. It is what it is. We’re going to put that behind us. We had our second-best win of the year beating Kentucky for the first time in 12 seasons at the SEC Tournament.”

“We went through a year last year where we didn’t get to play in the SEC Tournament. We had a double bye. So, to have a chance to still be playing, to be hooping, to be playing ball, what’s better than this?”

Q: A very quality opponent that almost was in the NCAA Tournament, what do you expect to see from Saint Louis?

BH: “They have three really good seniors to start. You look at [Hasahn] French, he’s the third leading scorer. The two guards [Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin] are great. The two and the three are really good players, but those three seniors are outstanding.”

“They have a very good team … they ended up being 14-6. They beat LSU the second game this season, and they beat North Carolina State. They beat St. Bonaventure at home, who ended up coming out of their league as one of the teams that’s in the [NCAA] tournament and has a good seed. They [St. Bonaventure] play LSU.”

“They’re a very good team, and they’re very well coached. He [Travis Ford] does an outstanding job. They shoot it. They’re good around the basket. They’ll change defenses. They’re primarily man-to-man, but they will also play three different zones. They’ll play a 1-3-1, they’ll play a 3-2 and they’ll even play a little bit of a 2-3. They’re tough. They’re hard-nosed kids, and they’ve got good depth. They have a number of bigs that come off the bench for them that can score. They’ll play small at times. They’ve got a great shooter in [Gibson] Jimerson. They’ve got a really nice team. It’s going to be a big challenge.”

Q: After the Alabama game, you said that your team had an outside shot to get into the NIT. How realistic did you think this possibility of being in the NIT was?

BH: “They had shown interest in us because, prior to, they want to make sure that you’re going to accept the bid. There’s a lot of paperwork. We knew that there was a chance prior to the SEC Tournament that we were being considered for the NIT if we didn’t come out of a NCAA bid out of that SEC Tournament. I think, obviously, our win over Kentucky didn’t hurt. We finished pretty strong there down the stretch. We had some quality wins during our season.”

“We dealt like everybody else did with all the issues … I was hopeful by saying we had an outside chance. You don’t know. I’m just glad it worked out for us. I’m excited that we’re playing in it. We’re going to play in the NIT. I know that with a young team and a team that is going to return some important players. It’s always a good thing to get some postseason play and to keep playing and to keep competing. The flip side is, what are you doing, you’re just resting. We have plenty of time to rest. We’ve got plenty of time to get away from the game for a few weeks. Let’s put that off as long as we can.”

Q: You talked about excitement, and Abdul got a little emotional talking about his time at Mississippi State after the Alabama game. How excited is Abdul Ado that he gets to play for Mississippi State a little longer?

BH: “I think he was excited. I thought that our team on Tuesday – we practiced Monday, we lifted and practiced on Monday for about an hour and a half. We came back and practiced Tuesday. We had a great practice on Tuesday. We were getting up and down. Guys were playing hard and competing. It was really great enthusiasm, so I was excited about that.”

“Yesterday, we took off. It worked out perfectly because we had this tornado watch. So, it would’ve been kind of scary to be practicing in the middle of the tornado watch to begin with. It worked out because you don’t want to go five straight days and then try to play a game. So, we’ll practice today and then tomorrow down there.”

“Abdul was great yesterday. Abdul’s a great kid, he’s a phenomenal young man. We’ve been blessed to have him the last five years.”

Q: Besides the normal things of taking care of the ball, shooting well and playing good defense. What are some things that your team is going to have to do well to be successful against Saint Louis?

BH: “They’re the best rebounding team in the A-10. Their guard is the best rebounder for a guard of anybody in the country. He averages over 10 rebounds a game, [No.] 0 [Jordan Goodwin]. They really rebound. They’re very physical, and they’ll try to beat you up physically.”

“You’ll see [Hasahn] French. French is a big, strong body. Thick, right shoulder, left shoulder. He’s left-handed, but he shoots just as well right-handed around the basket. We have to get back in transition. We’ve got to do a good job of keeping them off the glass. We’ve got to be physical. They’re a very physical team. We’re going to have to really defend well. We’ve got to be able to score, get the ball inside and take advantage of our size.”

Q: Do you see some similarities of what Quinndary Weatherspoon did in the 2018 NIT Tournament, then leading MSU to the NCAA Tournament the next year, with this team?

BH: “That’s kind of what I alluded to. I think a lot of times with a young team that plays in the NIT, you’re trying to use this as a springboard into next season, especially when it comes to postseason play. We hope that’s the case. I’ve seen it happen many times.”

“It definitely helped us that year going into 2019. It was a good experience. Lamar [Peters] had a tremendous NIT [experience]. I think he had 14 assists against either Nebraska or Baylor. He really played well. He was really good. I think he had a double figure assists multiple times and that really helped him for the following year. For example, that year, the win at Louisville, is one of the best wins I’ve had since I’ve been here. It was in the NIT, and it was a great win against a very talented team. A team that had an NBA big on it and had good players.”

“The bottom line is, yeah, everybody wants to be in the NCAA Tournament. Everybody didn’t make it. Saint Louis, Louisville and Colorado State, those are the first three out of most of all. But the bottom line is you still have a chance to play. You’ve got to seize that opportunity and take full advantage of it. I’ve always felt that way.”

Thank you for coming to Cowbell Corner for coverage of Mississippi State sports. Be sure to follow Cowbell Corner on Twitter (@SIBulldogs) by clicking here, and like it on Facebook by clicking here.