Pacific (22-11) at Appalachian State (24-12)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, March 25th, 8:00 p.m. (et)
FACTS & STATS: Site: Holmes Center (8,325) -- Boone, North Carolina. Television: None. CIT Tournament Record: Pacific 4-1, ASU 2-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.
GAME NOTES: For the first time ever on the hardwood the Appalachian State Mountaineers will tangle with the Pacific Tigers when the two teams meet in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at the Holmes Center. Originally scheduled for Wednesday night, this game was moved to tonight because of travel issues that arose for Pacific.
The Tigers, which were the Big West Conference regular-season co-champion, are playing in this event for the second consecutive season and have a 4-1 record in this tournament. Pacific opened the CIT with an 86-76 decision over Loyola- Marymount, and followed that with a 63-59 win over Northern Colorado. The Tigers, who are now 22-11 on the season, have also played well on the road, notching a 10-6 ledger away from home.
As for the Mountaineers, they pummeled Harvard in their first-round matchup, 93-71, and continued their strong play in the quarterfinal round by defeating Marshall, 80-72. Appalachian State has won eight of its last nine contests, and the team's 24 victories is second most in the program's history, which is just one of the school record 25 wins claimed during the 2006-07 campaign.
The winner of this matchup will move into the championship game and will take on either Creighton and Missouri State.
Pacific did not light up the scoreboard in the win over Northern Colorado, but the team did just enough to slip past the Bears into the semifinal round. The Tigers shot 41.2 percent from the field, but finished with a solid 7-of-17 clip from behind the arc. Terrell Smith led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Demetrece Young tallied 10 points. Sam Willard also had a solid showing, finishing the game with eight points and eight rebounds. However, on the season Willard has been the only consistent scoring threat for the Tigers, as the big man is posting 11.4 ppg, to go along with a team-high 8.3 rpg. Young is chipping in 9.3 ppg for the Tigers, despite shooting a lackluster 36.9 percent from the floor. Heading into this matchup the Tigers are only scoring 65.7 ppg, but the team has relied on its performance defensively, as Pacific is limiting the opposition to just 60.6 ppg.
The Mountaineers were simply too much for Marshall in their quarterfinal contest, as ASU poured in 80 points on the road against the Thundering Herd. Appalachian State shot 43.5 percent from the floor, and also connected on 9- of-19 shots from behind the arc. Donald Sims exploded for 30 points in the victory, while Kellen Brand added 15 points. Isaac Butts only posted nine points, but the big man pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Throughout the season Sims has been the best player on the floor for the Mountaineers, as the guard is averaging a healthy 20.3 ppg. Sims, who is dishing out 2.3 apg, has also done a tremendous job from behind the arc, netting 42.4 percent of his three-point attempts. As for Brand, he is contributing 11.7 ppg, but he is the only other player netting double figures for ASU. In the paint, Butts is helping out with 8.7 ppg, and is also collecting 8.3 rpg for the Mountaineers, who as a whole are producing a respectable 75.3 ppg.
The Tigers have done a tremendous job defensively this season, and should continue to play well at that end of the floor, but ultimately look for the Mountaineers to claim a win on their home floor, moving into the title game of this tournament.
Predicted Outcome: Appalachian State 68, Pacific 63
