TEMPE (AP) - Arizona State has little time to wallow in the disappointment of not making the NCAA tournament.
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The Hornets (20-10) won the SWAC regular season title but lost in overtime to Jackson State 77-72 in the conference tournament semifinals.
Mississippi Valley State beat Jackson State in the title game and faces No. 1 seed UCLA in the first round of the West Regional in Anaheim, Calif.
The young Sun Devils (19-12), led by freshman James Harden, were picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 in the preseason media vote but wound up 9-9 in a dramatic turnaround in coach Herb Sendek’s second season as coach.
Arizona and Oregon, teams that finished behind Arizona State in the conference standings, made the NCAA field, but the Sun Devils didn’t, largely because of their relatively weak nonconference schedule. A season sweep of Arizona added to the team’s disappointment.
The Sun Devils, who last participated in the NIT in 2005, can become just the fourth 20-game winner at Arizona State in the last 27 years.
The team went through a workout Monday evening in advance of the NIT contest.
Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson was scrambling to get his team across the country after learning the Hornets’ pairing with Arizona State on Sunday night.
Difficulties aside, the game is a big moment for a school making its first NIT appearance.
``The guys are really upbeat about getting on a plane and being able to travel like that at this time of year,’’ Lewis told the Montgomery, Ala., Advertiser. ``Hopefully, it will have a good effect on them and make them feel good about themselves.’’
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