UMass, OSU for NIT title

NEW YORK – Dante Milligan made a touching, triumphant return to the arena in which he practically grew up, leading Massachusetts into the NIT championship game.

The undersized post player scored 17 points and made several blocks late against Florida, helping the Minutemen defeat the two-time defending NCAA champions 78-66 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Gary Forbes scored 19 points, Chris Lowe and Ricky Harris added 16 each, and the starters scored all but two points for the Minutemen (25-10), who will play Ohio State on Thursday night.

Marreese Speights had 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for Florida (24-12), the first defending champ to miss the NCAA tournament since 1989.

Ohio State 81, Mississippi 69: Jamar Butler and Evan Turner scored 17 each, and the Buckeyes (23-13) used a buckling halfcourt trap and an early 14-0 run to beat the Rebels (24-11) to reach the title game.

Ole Miss tried to make a game of it, using its own trap defense to whittle down a 27-point deficit.

The lead was 56-38 when freshman Chris Warren hit a 3-pointer and Trevor Gaskins followed with a pair of free throws – the first points by a nonstarter for Ole Miss. Seconds later, Kenny Williams converted a turnover by Butler to make it 56-45 with 12 minutes left.

The Rebels put one last run together, with Warren hitting three 3s on consecutive possessions to get within 75-68 with 1:32 remaining. But Butler scored on a driving layup to help put the game away.