Clemson basketball looks to get out of its stake of flux and find consistency after losing a nail-biter to Virginia on Saturday.
The Tigers (14-7, 4-6 ACC) have two tough road games ahead against No. 3-ranked North Carolina and Syracuse, but as things stand, they are on track to reach March Madness. Clemson is trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in coach Brad Brownell’s 14 years.
Still, the Tigers are in 11th place in the ACC standings and need to stack quality wins to make the tournament after missing out last year despite a third-place finish in the ACC.
Here’s a look at Clemson’s résumé and where the Tigers sit in the latest March Madness projection.
Clemson basketball’s résumé, NET ranking
NET ranking: 37
KenPom ranking: 39
Quad 1 record: 3-4
Quad 2 record: 3-2
Quad 3 record: 3-1
Quad 4 record: 5-0
Joe Lunardi, ESPN
Lunardi’s latest projection has Clemson as a No. 8 seed in the East region. The Tigers would face Nebraska in a first-round matchup.
The victor would face the winner of No. 1 UConn and No. 16 Quinnipiac in the second round. Before Saturday’s loss to Virginia, the Tigers were a No. 7 seed in the Midwest bracket.
Jerry Palm, CBS
Palm projects Clemson as a No. 6 seed in the West region, which is its highest projection. The Tigers would face the winner of a First Four game between New Mexico and Michigan State. Clemson’s seeding is a downgrade from Palm’s previous projection when the team was a No. 4 seed.
More: Clemson basketball loss to Virginia pushes Tigers farther from NCAA Tournament with UNC next
USA TODAY Sports
The USA TODAY bracketology team of Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith and Eddie Timanus gave Clemson its lowest projection. They project the Tigers as a No. 11 seed that faces St. John’s in a First Four game. The winner would then face No. 6 Kentucky in the first round in the Midwest bracket.
Like Palm and Lunardi’s brackets, they have four ACC teams (UNC, Duke, Virginia, Clemson) making the tournament.
Washington Post
Patrick Stevens of the Washington Post has the Tigers as a No. 9 seed in the South region. They would face No. 8 Utah with the winner facing the victor between No. 1 Houston and No. 16 South Dakota State. He has five ACC teams reaching the tournament with Wake Forest joining the others.
Bracket Matrix
The Bracket Project’s Bracket Matrix monitors various bracket projections. Clemson appears on all 88 brackets, with a high seed of No. 6 and a low seed of No. 11. The Tigers’ average seed is 7.36, a drop from its previous average of 6.33.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions
