Why Clemson Cannot Afford to Slip Up at Wake Forest

When the Clemson Tigers (20-6, 10-3 ACC) head to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this Wednesday, it won’t just be a mundane road game on the schedule. It will be a defining moment of a tremendous season thus far under head coach Brad Brownell.

The Tigers enter the matchup looking to avoid something they haven’t experienced all season long: a three-game losing streak. The last time Clemson dropped three in a row came in January 2024, when Miami, North Carolina and Virginia Tech derailed momentum. After back-to-back losses to Virginia Tech and Duke last week, Clemson now finds itself in danger of letting a brief slump turn into a damaging slide.

At this stage in the regular season, every data point is critical on a resume. Clemson is widely projected as a No. 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to most pundits, and is looking to improve on a 4-4 record against Quad 1 opponents.

The harsh reality of the team’s situation is this: the Tigers have three remaining opportunities at resume-changing wins. Games against Wake Forest, Louisville, and North Carolina all fall within Quad 1, while home matchups with Florida State and Georgia Tech are Quad 3 and 4 games, respectively.

Grabbing a road win over Wake Forest would be a small help to Clemson’s postseason efforts and ACC standing, but a loss could be potentially devastating. It could be the difference between the Tigers earning a double-bye in the conference tournament in March and being viewed as a flawed team by the NCAA selection committee.

While the team’s postseason bid is all but sewn up, a more favorable NCAA Tournament draw could benefit Brownell’s Tigers greatly. In last Wednesday’s 10-point loss to the Hokies, the element of a bad matchup was shown to Clemson fans in the form of guard-reliant offense. Virginia Tech’s starting guards outscored Clemson’s 42-6, which spoke volumes about both teams.

During the Tigers’ struggles in ACC play, the struggles from that backcourt have been evident. The backcourt tandem of Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter is both capable of being consistent “glue guys” for a team with serious postseason aspirations. It’s time for that capability to be put to the test.

Should the Demon Deacons upset the Tigers this Wednesday night, Clemson could continue to plummet, potentially having to face a No. 1 seed in a hypothetical second-round matchup. That’s no bueno.

Some might ask why Wake Forest poses a true threat to Clemson. For starters, Deacs head coach Steve Forbes is no stranger to knocking off a contending Tigers team. Back on January 17, 2023, Wake Forest stunned previously-No. 19 Clemson, 87-77, snapping the Tigers’ 11-game ACC winning streak.

Whatever happens on Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, the stakes will be high. Tip-off between the Tigers and Demon Deacons is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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