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Top seeds Air Force, Clemson meet in NIT semis

Mar 27, 2007 - 12:38 PM No. 1 Clemson (24-10) vs No. 1 Air Force (26-8) 9:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Top seeds Clemson and Air Force meet in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals on Tuesday.

K.C. Rivers scored a career-high 29 points to lead Clemson over Syracuse, 74-70, in the South Region final. This will be the second NIT trip to New York for Clemson, which lost in the finals in 1999 to California, 61-60.

Clemson has had a signficant advantage over its opponents in 3-point shooting in the NIT. The Tigers have made 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from long range, while holding the opposition to just 20.8 percent (10-of-48).

They made 9-of-19 from beyond the arc, including 5-of-10 from Rivers, in the win over Syracuse, which gave the Tigers 24 wins this season, one shy of matching the school record set in 1986-87.

Air Force is also making history. With its 83-52 victory over Georgia in the second round, the Falcons set a new school record for most wins in a season with 25, surpassing last year's total of 24.

Senior forward and first-team All-Mountain West selection Dan Nwaelele leads Air Force in scoring at 14.3 points per game, but it has been fellow upperclassman Jacob Burtschi leading the way in the NIT (15.7 ppg).

The Falcons beat DePaul, 52-51, in the West Region finals behind 13 points and eight rebounds from Burtschi. Air Force commited only four turnovers in the game.

The winner will advance to face either West Virginia or Mississippi State in the NIT finals.