Where Does Clemson Land In ESPN’s Most Recent Bracket?

The Clemson Tigers find themselves on solid ground regarding securing a spot in the NCAA tournament this spring

The Clemson Tigers find themselves in a solid spot in the March Madness bracket | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite three early losses, the Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team has shown it can compete with some of the nation’s top programs.

Just over a third of the way through the season, Clemson has already earned some national respect, landing at No. 8 in the East region of ESPN’s latest Bracketology projection. They are currently projected to face LSU, who hold the No.9 seed.

Last season, the Tigers set a school record with 27 wins and earned a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region before ultimately being upset by McNeese State.

Seven other ACC teams landed a spot on the bracket, and Clemson opens ACC play on New Year’s Eve with a road matchup against Syracuse (9-4) at 2:00 p.m. inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

Currently sitting at 10–3, the Tigers’ three losses have come by a combined 14 points.

While they haven’t quite finished off those games, they seem to be a tweak or two away from turning these close losses into wins against top programs. 

In each of Clemson’s games against ranked opponents, the Tigers came up short, falling to No. 12 Alabama, 90–84, and No. 10 BYU, 67–64.

Tigers head coach Brad Brownell knows his team is capable of keeping up with highly-ranked teams, but explained that they need to keep it together for a full 40 minutes.

“We’ve played a lot of good halves against the high major teams,” he said. “We haven't played a full 40 minutes great, but I think some of that is, it’s hard to do that. The other teams are good too. . .their coaches are going to make adjustments.”

Clemson led by as many as 22 points during their loss to BYU at Madison Square Garden before top prospect AJ Dybantsa outscored the Tigers by himself in the second half.

During Clemson’s loss to Alabama, the Tigers still held the lead with 2:41 remaining, but ultimately couldn’t close it out.

While conference play will bring its own challenges, Clemson won’t face another team that is currently ranked until Feb. 14, when they take on No. 6 Duke.

That game will be part of the Tigers’ toughest stretch of the season, as they close the season with matchups against the Blue Devils, No. 12 North Carolina and No. 16 Louisville over a six-game span.

No team has started ACC play yet, but Clemson has posted the third-best record among all teams in the conference up to this point.