After 14 games in which ten of those games were decided by ten
points or less, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Basketball
Tournament concludes with the National Championship game on Tuesday
night from two teams that took different routes to get there.
One team advanced with three straight road wins (Pacific) and
the other team showed its dominance at home with three straight
home wins (Missouri State) to advance. The Pacific Tigers (23-11)
continue on the road as they travel to Springfield, Missouri to
face the Missouri State Bears (23-12) on Tuesday night in a game
that will air on Fox College Sports nationally at 8pm ET.
Pacific dominates on the road in which they are 12-6,
including the three wins they notched in the CIT to get to the
championship game. The Tigers defeated Loyola Marymount (86-76),
then Northern Colorado (63-59) and finally Appalachian State
(64-56) in the CIT to face Missouri State. As Big West Co-Regular
Season champion, they are guided by Big West Coach of the Year Bob
Thomason, who has coached Pacific to its 13th season with at least
20 games won.
Sam Willard has led the Tigers in scoring (17.6 ppg) and
rebounding (11.6 rpg) in the CIT while shooting 56.7% from the
field. Demetrece Young has averaged 9.6 points while shooting 40%
beyond the arc while two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Year
Joe Ford has averaged 9.3 points while shooting 60% from the field.
After struggling through an 11-20 season last year, Missouri
State opened this campaign with 10 straight wins and is 23-12 after
CIT victories at home over Middle Tennessee (87-79), Louisiana Tech
(69-40), and Creighton (67-61). The Bears are particularly dominant
at home with only one Division I team (Kansas, 19-0 at home) having
won more home games than Missouri State (18-2) this season. The
team's two home losses are by a combined 4 points.
Adam Leonard has led the Bears in scoring in the CIT,
averaging 17.3 points while making half his three-point shots (12
for 24) in the tournament. Will Creekmore has averaged 12.3 ppg and
7.6 rebounds per game in the tourney while shooting 59.1% from the
field. The Bears are surrendering just 65.3 points per game,
marking the fourth straight season MSU has allowed less than 66.0
points.
This will be the first ever meeting between Pacific and
Missouri State.
Don’t forget to catch the CIT National Championship Game
airing live on Tuesday at 8pm ET on Fox College Sports.
