The Mississippi State Bulldogs visit John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia on Tuesday to play the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NIT. Mississippi State was eliminated by Tennessee in the SEC tournament on Friday 72-59. The leading scorer for Mississippi State was Shakeel Moore with 15 points but the Bulldogs managed to shoot only 39.6% and committed 13 turnovers while Tennessee committed just six.
Iverson Molinar is the leading scorer and the leader in assists for Mississippi State with averages of 17.6 points and 3.6 assists per game, while Garrison Brooks is the leading rebounder with an average of 6.6 rebounds per game. Tolu Smith is the second leading scorer with an average of 14.1 points per game and one of three players for the Bulldogs averaging double-figures in scoring.
Virginia was eliminated from the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by the North Carolina Tar Heels 63-43. Jaylen Gardner was the leading scorer for Virginia with 17 points but the Cavaliers managed to shoot just 34.6% overall and 27.3% from 3-point territory. North Carolina outrebounded Virginia 46-32 and the Cavaliers committed 11 turnovers to only seven by the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner is the leading scorer and leading rebounder for Virginia with averages of 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Reece Beekman is the leader in assists with an average of 5.0 assists per game. Armaan Franklin is the second-leading scorer with an average of 10.9 points per game and one of three players for Virginia averaging double-figures in scoring. As a team, the Cavaliers are scoring an average of 62.6 points per game.
