In their return to the national rankings, Rick Pitino and his St. John’s team finished much better than they started.

Memphis guard Boogie Ellis (5) makes a pass as Mississippi State forward Derek Fountain (20), Cameron Matthews (4), Abdul Ado, bottom front, and D.J. 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.

– Jaden Shackleford scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi State 64-59 on Saturday night to clinch its first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship since 2002. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had plenty of good looks in the first half that just didn’t fall. The second half began much better and they were able to get close, but couldn’t get that one key basket or stop Alabama on the glass. Mississippi State visits Texas A&M on Wednesday night.