NCAA basketball on Tuesday night and we will see the Georgia State Panthers travel to Littlejohn Coliseum to take on the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the NIT Tournament. The game has a start time of 9:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN U. Vegas odds have the Tigers listed as 5 point favorites, while the total sits at 130.
Stat Pack: The Georgia State Panthers had a very nice year. But missed out on the NCAA tournament with their loss to Louisiana in the Sun Belt finals. The Panthers did go 17-1 in the Sun Belt this year and 25-8 overall. The Panthers come in ranked 31st in scoring (78.0 ppg), 38th in shooting overall (47.3%), 56th in 3 point shooting (37.6%) and 3rd in free throw shooting (77.5%). The offense is led by R.J. Hunter, who averages 18.4 ppg on 45.2% shooting for the year. He also hits 39.8% from long range and 88.4% from the charity stripe. Ryan Harrow is another solid scorer as he averages 17.9 ppg, while Manny Atkins (14.4 ppg) and Devonta White (11.5 ppg) also average in double figures for the Panthers. Defensively this is a sound team that has allowed 68.2 ppg on 41.9% shooting for the year.
The Clemson Tigers also had a nice year, going 20-12 overall and 10-8 in the ACC, but in the end it just wasn’t good enough to get them an invite to the big dance. Clemson is led by an outstanding defense that ranks 4th in the nation in point allowed (58 ppg), 21st in defensive FG% overall (39.6%) and 1st in 3 point defense (28.2%). Very tough defense to crack. Offensively this is a weak team, as they rank 324th in scoring (63.3 ppg), 294th in shooting overall (41.8%) and 327th in 3 point shooting (30.3%), but they do hit their FT’s at a 73.7% clip, which is 44th in the nation. The Tigers are led by K.J. McDaniels, who averages 17.0 ppg, while also leading the team in rebounding (7.0) and blocked shots (83). He is the only player that averages in double digits for the Tigers, with the second leading scorer being Rod Hall, who averages 9.8 ppg.
Pick: I am going with the Over in this one. I know the game is at Clemson and they will really try and slow the game down, but Georgia State is a very efficient offense that on score plenty of points even in a slow down game. They are very good from long range and will test this Clemson defense that is tops in the nation at defending the three-ball. Now lets also note that Clemson did play in the ACC, where there are not many good 3-point shooting teams, so that #1 defense vs the three may be a bit deceiving. Still this is a very good defense. but I feel that the Panthers will find a way to get their fair share of points. Now On offense the Tigers don't score a whole lot, but they do average 65.6 ppg at home, while the Panthers allow 68.6 ppg on the road, so expecting the mid to upper 60's by Clemson is reasonable. This game could also be a FT shooting contest down the stretch and both teams do hit at least 73.7% of their FTs. Not often will I take an Over in a Clemson home game, but neither team has seen each other before, which should give the edge to the offenses. Look for a game in the mid 130's here.
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