National Invitation Tournament 2012: UMass Opens Against Mississippi State

A respectable season was not enough to send the Massachusetts Minutemen (22-11, 9-7 Atlantic 10) to the NCAA Tournament, but UMass is headed to the 2012 National Invitation Tournament, which begins on Tuesday afternoon.

UMass, a No. 5 seed in the 2012 NIT bracket, opens play against No. 4 seed Mississippi State at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs were 21-11 in the regular season (8-8 SEC), and Tuesday's game will be aired on ESPN2.

The Minutemen were defeated by the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 84-80, in the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Saturday, despite a 20-point performance from Terrell Vinson. UMass had just upset No. 24 Temple the day before.

Arizona (23-11), Washington (21-10), Seton Hall (20-12) and Tennessee (18-14) are the No. 1 seeds, and three begin play on Tuesday with one (Arizona) tipping off the tournament Wednesday.

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