Cappers Buzz

You think this year’s NCAA tourney lacked upsets?  How about the NIT, where all 4 #1 seeds cruised through to the Semis.  That’s right not one team in this year’s final has played an NIT road game, so it will be interesting to see  how each team reacts to playing their 1st game away from home in nearly 3 weeks! 

Tonight’s matchups are very similar in that both feature up and down style,  athletic team against a slower paced/perimeter passing-based offense.  The contrast in styles is not as exaggerated in the WVU/Miss St. game as the Clemson/AF game, but the fundamental difference is still there.  WVU, unlike Air Force will not shy away from running tonight when they do get the chance, but at the same time does not want a track meet with the Bulldogs.  Other factors that stand out  for tonight’s games are:

-Clemson’s horrible 58% team FT shooting on about the same number of attempts/game as Air Force

-WVU/MSU have combined for only 13 road and neutral wins this  season, and both drop off across the board statistically far more than the other game’s combatants when they take to the road.  However, it must be said that it was more difficult to win on the road in the SEC and Big East then in the ACC and Mountain West this season.    This road performance may be worth noting when one of these teams make the final. 

-Both Air Force and WVU are tough to prepare for THE FIRST TIME YOU PLAY THEM.  Clemson really hasn’t played a slow down game all season in the uptempo ACC.  Miss St. did face a similar offense to WVU two games back against Bradley, and dominated the Braves winning by 29.