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Top seeds Miss St, West Virginia meet in NIT semis

Mar 27, 2007 - 12:33 PM No. 1 Mississippi St (21-13) vs No. 1 West Virginia (25-9) 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Frank Young is on a mission to lead West Virginia to the National Invitation Tournament title.

Young has averaged 24.3 points in West Virginia's three NIT wins and will need to keep scoring if the Mountaineers hope to beat top-seeded Mississippi State in the semifinals.

The 6-5 forward set a career high with 31 points against Massachusetts in the second round after breaking Chris Leonard's 3-point season field goal record of 101 vs. North Carolina State in the quarterfinals. Young now has 107.

West Virginia's top seven scorers are shooting 40 percent or higher from the field, and four Mountaineers are shooting 48 percent or better from the floor. However, 51 percent of WVU's shot attempts this season have been from 3-point range (946-of-1891) and Mississippi State allows opponents just 32 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Making their first-ever appearance in the semifinals of the NIT, the Bulldogs are led by All-Southeastern Conference performers Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes. The two have combined to average 35.3 points and 13 rebounds in the NIT.

Mississippi State has earned its way to this year's NIT semifinals by having disposed of Mississippi Valley State (82-63), Bradley (101-72) and Florida State (86-71) by an average margin of 21 points.

The Mountaineers and Bulldogs are meeting for the first time.