NEW YORK – The on-court celebration was on. Down on the Garden floor, NIT committee and long time coach Don Devoe said hello and commented on what a great tournament it was. DeVoe recalled and pointed to the spot on the floor Bobby Stevens buried a last-second shot to defeat Notre Dame in the 1973 championship. That gave DeVoe’s Virginia Tech their first NIT title. They would win again in 1995 with DeVoe already having moved on. “We still have reunions,” DeVoe said. “We meet every five years at Virginia Tech and we work it around a football weekend.”
Thrirty six years later the members of that team journeying back to Blacksburg , Virginia Tech still cherishes that March moment in Madison Square Garden.
The NIT does that for you, as a fan, coach or player. As Penn State’s Talor Battle said, “this championship is for a lifetime.”
As noted in a previous piece, Battle’s last-second three-pointer forced overtime in the first round, a game the Nittany Lions won over George Mason. Seconds from one and done. All the way to a quarterfinal win at Florida just to get to New York. Tells you a lot about this team.
Penn State coach Ed DeChellis noted that, “I told them at the beginning I would be on them 364 days, but that 365th day they would see it was all worth while.”
DeChellis also thanked the fans. Penn State came a long way from the days when they got maybe three busloads to come across campus. The night of the finals they had 36 bus loads make the 4-plus hour trip from Happy Valley to the Big Apple.
Suffice it to say, outside of a Big East semifinal or final, it’s been years since the Garden rocked like the Penn State fans had it. Not for the Knicks. Not for St. John’s.
Notes
- Baylor, the runner-up, knows a thing or two about adversity. To get to New York was an incredible journey that began a few years ago. Of more recent note, the Baylors came from behind to edge Georgetown in round one. They punched their MSG ticket with a troad win over Auburn.
- Interestingly, the two teams that hosted quarterfinals, Notre Dame and San Diego State, were gone after the semis.
- Pre-final tempo free stats (four NIT games only) showed:
Baylor: 64 possessions, 1.21 points per possession, 1.04 points per possession allowed
Penn St. 64 possessions, 1.16 points per possession, 1.00 points per possession allowed - The numbers in the final:
Baylor: 63 possessions, 1.00 PPP
Penn State: 62 possessions, 1.11 PPP - In the 69-63 win Penn State did a good job of cooling off the Baylor offense. A defensive 1.00 PPP is not great, but it’s better than average when your opposition is clicking at a 1.21 rate.
- Overheard from one Penn State fan prior to the final. “Better to win the NIT than get beat first round of the NCAA.” Interestingly, a couple hours later DeChellis had a quote that echoed that sentiment.
- MVP Jamelle Cornley was almost overcome with emotion as he accepted his award. That was probably the only weak spot he showed during his NIT run in New York.
On The Baseline
- All four schools brought bands and cheerleaders. Baylor cheerleadrs sampled the Chinatown cuisine which they loved. Their coach noted they were most comfortable and happy strolling Central Park and getting a hot dog from a cart.
- Penn State’s group bussed back after the Tuesday game and returned early Wednesday. They did get to visit Times Square.
- Not one in their cheer, band or party of fans was complaining about a 4-hour bus ride home after the final. Winning an NIT title will do that.
