Mountaineers look to take down the Tigers in Tampa
The West Virginia Mountaineers knew back on Sunday that they were a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Region of the NCAA Tournament. Now they know the identity of their second round opponent on Thursday in Tampa: the Clemson Tigers.
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#12 Clemson (22-11, 9-7 ACC) vs. # 5 West Virginia (20-11, 11-7 Big East)
Date/Time: Thursday, March 17, 12:15 PM ET
Venue: St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL.
Broadcast: CBS
Money Line: West Virginia -135, Clemson +115
Spread: West Virginia -2
Over/Under: 123.5
The Tigers rolled in Dayton for their ‘First Four’ matchup against the UAB Blazers and built an early double-digit lead on their way to a 70-52 triumph. Clemson has been known all season long for a smothering team defense, limiting opponents to just 60.9 points on average – 20th best in the entire nation. On Tuesday night, they showed the regular season Conference USA champs how ferocious it could be.
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The Tigers forced UAB into 19 turnovers and held them to just 37.5 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Jerai Grant stepped out of the shadow cast by his more famous father and uncle to lead Clemson with 22 points and seven rebounds in the victory. The win was the first for Clemson in the NCAA Tournament since 1997, snapping a four-game losing streak with three of those coming in each of the last three seasons.
Now Clemson must prepare for the Mountaineers with less than 36 hours turnaround. One player who will need to play even better is Desmond Stitt. The Tigers leading scorer for the season at 14.7 points per game, Stitt was held to just seven points, but came up with two of the Tigers ten steals in the victory.
West Virginia would love to build off the success they had in their last tournament appearance, when they went to the Final Four last season. It was their first trip to the Final Four since 1959 when Jerry West was their star.
The star of the current Mountaineers is Casey Mitchell, who led WVU in scoring at 14.1 points per game, shooting three-pointers at 38.2 percent efficiency. Kevin Jones (13.1 PPG) and Darryl Bryant (10.9 PPG) can also put the ball through the hoops when needed.
The odds makers have the West Virginia Mountaineers as a -2 point favorite with an over/under of 123.5.
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Prediction: Though they went just 8-8 against tournament teams, the fact that they played sixteen teams in the big dance and the experience this upperclassmen-dominated roster, our belief is the West Virginia will be able to find a way to defeat Clemson on Thursday.
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West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Trends:
- West Virginia is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games
- West Virginia is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of West Virginia’s last 7 games
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