Clemson Basketball Welcomes Small Break Ahead of Pitt Rematch

The in-conference schedule is a hectic one, and having a game off this week will be crucial to Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers.

Seeing two games each week for the past four weeks, including things like travel and wear-and-tear, this week’s Saturday matchup with Pitt and the Tigers looking to reset for a little bit this week, especially over the next day or two.

Brownell also said that a few members of his freshman class had the flu as well, meaning some rest during this winter storm was imminent.

“I think the break, I hope, is coming at a good time,” he said during Monday’s teleconference.

Clemson is in a great spot entering the month of February. The team is 17-4 and a projected No. 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. That is only one of nine ACC teams that are currently projected to make the big dance.

That’s been a help to the Tigers’ success this season: the depth of the ACC. Eight teams had five losses or fewer, which is a credit to all of winning their non-conference games.

Brownell believes that’s made this league very deep in the 2025-26 season.

“I think it’s notably deeper, for sure,” he said. “At the end of the day, most of us are judged on our non-conference performance, and clearly our league, you know, performed much better in the non-conference this year, and as a result, you get your NET ratings up higher.”

A stretch against many of these teams, especially when you play three games in a seven-day span, will take a toll physically.

“I do think the games, they can really come at you quick, especially when you got a Wednesday-Saturday-Tuesday situation, or maybe the teams were getting ready to do it when you go to California, and then you come back,” Brownell said.

With one game this week, against a team that the Tigers already played and defeated, Brownell will put his full focus on the Panthers, who they beat to open the 2026 calendar year in a five-point victory.

The Clemson head coach will look to do that again at home this Saturday.

“I think Jeff [Capel] runs a good offense where their spacing is terrific and they can move the ball,” he said. “We played very well in that game. They played well for good bits of the game as well.”

“They’ll have our full attention as we kind of move through the week, you know,” Brownell added. “I think they’ve got several guys that can jump up and shoot it.”

Tipoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.