Larry Brown’s return to Madison Square Garden as a coach is already better than his last go-around.
SMU rallied from 12 down to knock off Clemson 65-59 in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night, giving the well-traveled Brown a shot at a title in just his second year back coaching college basketball, and eight years after he was fired following one disastrous season on the Knicks bench.
“I love this place,” said Brown, the only coach to win an NBA and NCAA title. “I’m not happy with the job I did with the Knicks. But I grew up loving the Knicks, loving the Garden. I wanted our guys to experience that.
“To be in this environment, that’s the most special moment we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
SMU (27-9) meets Minnesota, which defeated Florida State 67-64 in overtime, Thursday at 7 p.m.
Andre Hollins and Deandre Mathieu each scored 17 points for the Gophers (24-13).
SMU was snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee, left out despite a pair of wins over Final Four participant UConn and a victory over Memphis, an NCAA Tournament qualifier.
The Mustangs, however, haven’t let it get them down, winning four games in the NIT, their last two in dramatic fashion. Philadelphia product Markus Kennedy put Tuesday night’s game on ice with a 3-point play, extending a one-point edge to four, with 7.2 seconds left. The sophomore forward led SMU with 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Nick Moore added 13 points and Nick Russell had 10, while Rod Hall scored 18 for Clemson (23-13).
SMU pulled even on the strength of a 15-4 run with 10:30 to go in the second half and went ahead for good on two Kennedy free throws with 5:09 remaining.
“I always talk about playing the right way — we played the right way [in the second half],” Brown said. “I thought it was the best half we played all year.”