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The Virginia Cavaliers will be hosting No. 3 seed Mississippi State in the 2022 National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday March 16th at 7:00PM. The game will be televised on ESPN2. The winner will face the winner of No. 2 seed North Texas vs. Texas State, sharing a bracket with top-seeded Oklahoma.
Despite being unseeded, Virginia will be the host due to construction at Mississippi State, per 247Sports’ Jacquie Franciulli.
Mississippi State has started construction on Humphrey Coliseum, so they can’t host. UVA will host them at JPJ despite being unseeded.
— Jacquie Franciulli (@JacquieFran_) March 14, 2022
The Cavaliers are 1-2 all-time against Mississippi State, all happening on neutral courts, but the two teams haven’t seen each other since 1988, a 86-84 loss to the Bulldogs. The two have never faced off in the postseason.
It’s the first time the Hoos are participating in the NIT since 2013, when they were the top seed, hosting Norfolk State and advancing as far as the quarterfinals before falling to Iowa.
This is Virginia’s 14th appearance in the NIT and only second in the Tony Bennett era. They’ve won the whole tournament twice in program history—1980 and again in 1992.
The Bulldogs are 18-15 overall on the season, with a 8-10 finish in the SEC. They lost to Tennessee in the second round of the SEC Tournament. They finished the regular season with a 14-3 home record and a 1-9 road record, 3-3 on neutral sites.
First round of the NIT takes place March 15 and 16. Virginia’s tipoff should be announced later Sunday evening.
Download the full 2022 NIT Fillable Bracket here:
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