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Clemson faces West Virginia for NIT title

Mar 29, 2007 - 2:28 PM No. 1 West Virginia (26-9) vs. No. 1 Clemson (25-10) 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) - Clemson and West Virginia both have advanced to the National Invitation Tournament final on the strength of their long-range shooting.

On Tuesday, Clemson remained perfect outside the Atlantic Coast Conference this season with a 68-67 victory over Air Force. The Tigers made nine 3-pointers, and have gone 31-of-80 from the arc in the tournament.

K.C. Rivers scored 19 points to lead Clemson, which is 18-0 against non-ACC teams. He is averaging 19.3 points to pace the Tigers, who are looking to establish a school record for wins.

West Virginia also relies on its long-range shooting, attempting 27.7 shots per game from the arc.

In their 63-62 victory over Mississippi State in the semifinals, the Mountaineers made 7-of-23 3-pointers. Darrius Nichols drained a shot from the arc as time expired, giving West Virginia the victory.

The teams last met in the 1994 NIT second round, a 96-79 Clemson victory.