The Memphis Tigers will play for a national championship* Sunday in Frisco, Texas. Playing their best basketball of the season, the Tigers ran Colorado State out of the gym Saturday in the semifinals of the NIT. They’ll face the winner of a Bulldog battle — Mississippi State or Louisiana Tech — from the tournament’s other semifinal. (*No, it’s not the national championship, but the NIT predates the NCAA tournament and yes, its field is national. So play along.)
Sophomore guard Landers Nolley — a Virginia Tech Hokie at this time a year ago — scored a career-high 27 points and the Tigers drained a season-high 14 three-pointers to dehorn the Rams, the NIT’s overall top seed. The win improves Memphis to 19-8 on the season while Colorado State finishes with a record of 20-7.
The Tigers fell behind early, 15-5, but reeled off a 22-2 run keyed by three treys from sophomore guard Lester Quinones and led 44-38 at halftime. A 12-0 Memphis run early in the second half put the Rams in a 15-point hole (56-41), and essentially booked the Tigers’ ticket to the NIT final for the first time since 2002. Quinones finished 4-for-7 from three-point range and scored 18 points. DeAndre Williams — like Nolley a transfer during the 2020 offseason — hit nine of 12 field-goal attempts and scored 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists. The Tigers scored 90 points for only the third time this season.
David Roddy led the Rams with 18 points, but his team shot merely 39 percent from the field while Memphis hit on a sparkling 56 percent of its shots. The Tigers dominated in the rebound department (37-25) and even — catch your breath — connected on eight of nine free throws. It was a thoroughly dominant performance by one of 20 teams (counting those in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16) still playing college basketball.
Sunday’s game will tip off at 11 a.m. and be televised by ESPN. Memphis will be seeking its second NIT championship, having beaten South Carolina for the trophy 19 years ago.
Memphis hasn’t played Mississippi State since the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament, when the Tigers played for the national championship. The Tigers last played Louisiana Tech in December 2015.
