Memphis players and staff celebrate their win against Mississippi State in an NCAA college basketball championship game in the NIT, Sunday, March 28, 2021, in Frisco, Texas. After just missing out on their first NCAA Tournament since 2013-14, the Tigers went into the NIT as a No. Cameron Matthews scored 19 to pace Mississippi State, and Deivon Smith had 17. STYMIED STEWARTAfter being the first Mississippi State player ever with three consecutive 20-point poststeason games, D.J. Iverson Molinar, who had 25 points in the semifinal for Mississippi State, finished with six against Memphis.

6 Alabama blew out Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in an SEC quarterfinal. Alabama followed a couple of small early runs with a 17-0 surge over nearly five minutes for an eventual 43-13 cushion just before halftime. The Tide also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall. “To get beat this badly was really, really a bitter pill,” he said. Alabama drained 3s in bunches to put this game away early and protected the ball.