Filed at 11:44 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ohio State will get another chance to wrap up its season with a title, though not quite the one the Buckeyes had in mind when fall practice started.
Hey, at least they don't have to mess with Florida this time.
Jamar Butler and Evan Turner scored 17 each, and the Buckeyes used a buckling halfcourt trap and an early 14-0 run to beat Mississippi 81-69 on Tuesday night in the NIT semifinals.
Ohio State (23-13) will play Massachusetts in the championship Thursday night, after the Minutemen knocked off Florida 78-66 and allowed a small but vocal contingent of Buckeye fans to breath a little easier before their game even began.
The Gators have been their nemesis for the past 18 months, romping over Ohio State to win the 2007 BCS championship game and then knocking off Greg Oden and the Buckeyes at the Final Four in Atlanta for a second straight basketball title.
Instead, Ohio State will get a Massachusetts team that has shown incredible resiliency in rallying from second-half deficits of 12 against Akron, 22 against Syracuse and nine against the Gators just to reach the NIT championship.
Ole Miss (24-11) tried to summon some of that magic in the second half, slapping on its own trap and slowly whittling 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, the all-Big Ten guard, scored on a driving layup to help put the game away.