NEW YORK — Larry Brown already is the only head coach to win both an NCAA and NBA championship. Now he has a chance to add the NIT to his extensive resume — in his old backyard, no less.

Markus Kennedy scored 21 points, including the clinching three-point play, and SMU rallied from 13 down in the second half to beat Clemson 65-59 Tuesday night, sending its Hall of Fame coach into the NIT title game at Madison Square Garden.

“I love this place,” Brown said. “I wanted our guys to experience what I grew up looking forward to.”

Nic Moore added 13 points and Nick Russell scored 10 for the Mustangs (27-9), who will play Minnesota for the crown Thursday night. The Gophers advanced with a 67-64 overtime win over Florida State.

The 73-year-old Brown, who was born in Brooklyn and grew up in nearby Long Beach, is old enough to remember when the NIT was the premier college basketball tournament around. The former New York Knicks coach has directed quite a turnaround in two seasons at SMU, snubbed by the NCAA tourney on Selection Sunday.

“We had a disappointment two weeks ago,” Brown said. “But it was a phenomenal opportunity for our program and for our kids to play in this environment.”

By all accounts, the Mustangs were one of the final schools left out of the 68-team field. But they were given a No. 1 seed in the NIT and have taken full advantage of it with four straight wins — three on their home court.

The latest one came with Knicks coach Mike Woodson and some of his players, including Kenyon Martin and Tim Hardaway Jr., sitting close to the court.

“This is a quality, quality championship,” Brown said. “We haven’t had a lot of nice things happen at SMU for a long, long time, so if we were fortunate enough to win a championship like this, and I was part of it, it would be pretty neat.”

Rod Hall had 18 points and five assists for third-seeded Clemson (23-13), still looking for its first NIT crown after three trips to the semifinals.