Can MSU shoulder visitors' burden?
NIT: Panthers
counting on partisan crowd
New York-minded Bulldogs face uphill struggle at Pittsburgh
By Sekou Smith
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH ? It doesn't pay to be the visiting team in the National Invitation Tournament.
And that's meant literally and figuratively.
When Mississippi State plays Pittsburgh at 6 :30 tonight in Fitzgerald Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs not only will receive the peasant's portion of the finances, they'll also be facing steep odds.
Home teams went 11-3 in first-round games, and chances are slim of that number changing drastically in the other direction in tonight's second-round games.
The Bulldogs knew that Wednesday night after they knocked off Southern Miss in the first round with plenty of help from an extremely pro-Bulldogs Humphrey Coliseum crowd.
Despite winning just two of 10 road games all season, the Bulldogs, 17-12, understand that if they want to make another trip to the Northeast, they'll have to do the improbable tonight.
"We knew there was a chance we'd have to go on the road at some point if we wanted to make it to New York," State junior swingman Marckell Patterson said. "You're never going to get anything easy. And if we've proven anything this season, it's that we don't like anything easy."
The Bulldogs need a win tonight in order to advance to the quarterfinal round, where they would face the winner of the Minnesota-Tulsa game Wednesday, Thursday or Friday at a site to be determined.
The semifinals and finals are set for March 27 and 29 at New York's venerable Madison Square Garden, where the Bulldogs insist they plan on finishing their season.
To get to the Big Apple, they'll first have to get through Western Pennsylvania and past a red-hot Pitt team, 19-13, that has won seven of its last nine games.
The Panthers, under second-year coach Ben Howland, were 40 minutes from earning an NCAA Tournament bid two weeks ago before losing to Boston College in the Big East Tournament title game.
Their fans rebounded quickly, though.
More than 5,200 Panthers faithful showed up for last week's first-round win over St. Bonaventure.
"It's huge to be at home again," Howland said. "The St. Bonaventure crowd was the best we've had since I've been here. The fans were really into it.
"We had a sellout for the regular season game against Notre Dame. But the (St. Bonaventure) crowd was way more into it. The crowd was definitely a factor."
The Bulldogs planned on as much.
That's why they left Starkville headed this way Saturday afternoon. They wanted as much time as possible to get used to the arena and its nuances.
"After those first couple of minutes, it won't really matter," State senior forward Tang Hamilton said. "The rims are always 10 feet from the floor, and as far as I know, every court is the same.
"It's up to us to make sure we don't let the crowd take us out of our game. We have to make sure we keep our minds in the right places."
State coach Rick Stansbury is counting on it.
"This team has grown up in a lot of ways the last two months of the season," Stansbury said. "They've been through enough to know exactly what it's gonna take to accomplish the goals they've set, that we've all set. The only thing left is to play the game."
NIT: Panthers
counting on partisan crowd
New York-minded Bulldogs face uphill struggle at Pittsburgh
By Sekou Smith
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH ? It doesn't pay to be the visiting team in the National Invitation Tournament.
And that's meant literally and figuratively.
When Mississippi State plays Pittsburgh at 6 :30 tonight in Fitzgerald Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs not only will receive the peasant's portion of the finances, they'll also be facing steep odds.
Home teams went 11-3 in first-round games, and chances are slim of that number changing drastically in the other direction in tonight's second-round games.
The Bulldogs knew that Wednesday night after they knocked off Southern Miss in the first round with plenty of help from an extremely pro-Bulldogs Humphrey Coliseum crowd.
Despite winning just two of 10 road games all season, the Bulldogs, 17-12, understand that if they want to make another trip to the Northeast, they'll have to do the improbable tonight.
"We knew there was a chance we'd have to go on the road at some point if we wanted to make it to New York," State junior swingman Marckell Patterson said. "You're never going to get anything easy. And if we've proven anything this season, it's that we don't like anything easy."
The Bulldogs need a win tonight in order to advance to the quarterfinal round, where they would face the winner of the Minnesota-Tulsa game Wednesday, Thursday or Friday at a site to be determined.
The semifinals and finals are set for March 27 and 29 at New York's venerable Madison Square Garden, where the Bulldogs insist they plan on finishing their season.
To get to the Big Apple, they'll first have to get through Western Pennsylvania and past a red-hot Pitt team, 19-13, that has won seven of its last nine games.
The Panthers, under second-year coach Ben Howland, were 40 minutes from earning an NCAA Tournament bid two weeks ago before losing to Boston College in the Big East Tournament title game.
Their fans rebounded quickly, though.
More than 5,200 Panthers faithful showed up for last week's first-round win over St. Bonaventure.
"It's huge to be at home again," Howland said. "The St. Bonaventure crowd was the best we've had since I've been here. The fans were really into it.
"We had a sellout for the regular season game against Notre Dame. But the (St. Bonaventure) crowd was way more into it. The crowd was definitely a factor."
The Bulldogs planned on as much.
That's why they left Starkville headed this way Saturday afternoon. They wanted as much time as possible to get used to the arena and its nuances.
"After those first couple of minutes, it won't really matter," State senior forward Tang Hamilton said. "The rims are always 10 feet from the floor, and as far as I know, every court is the same.
"It's up to us to make sure we don't let the crowd take us out of our game. We have to make sure we keep our minds in the right places."
State coach Rick Stansbury is counting on it.
"This team has grown up in a lot of ways the last two months of the season," Stansbury said. "They've been through enough to know exactly what it's gonna take to accomplish the goals they've set, that we've all set. The only thing left is to play the game."
