Clemson Tigers Eliminated from ACC Tournament, Await NCAA Seeding

The Clemson Tigers nearly rallied to overcome the Louisville Cardinals in Friday’s ACC men’s tournament semifinal game.

Mar 14, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Jake Heidbreder (3) handles the ball against Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) during the second half at Spectrum Center. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers’ NCAA Tournament resume is locked in after their 76-73 loss to the Louisville Cardinals in the ACC men’s basketball tournament on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.

The Tigers (27-6) will find out their NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday during the selection show. Entering Saturday’s action, the Tigers were slotted as a No. 5 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology.

The Cardinals (27-6) will play No. 1 seeded Duke in the ACC championship game on Saturday.

The Tigers were only down five points, 33-28, at halftime, but watched as the Cardinals built a double-digit lead at one point in the second half. At one point, Louisville led, 67-52, with 3:50 left in the game, an almost insurmountable lead for the Tigers to overcome.

Yet, they nearly did. Down the stretch the Tigers caught fire and pushed the Cardinals to the brink. A Chase Hunter lay-up with 54 seconds left cut Louisville’s lead to two points, 75-73. But it was a close as the Tigers got to tying the game.

Hunter finished the game with 23 points for the Tigers. Ian Schieffelin and Viktor Lakhin had 14 points each, while Jaeden Zackery had 11 points. Clemson was without Dillon Hunter, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken hand in the ACC quarterfinal victory over SMU.

Terrence Edwards Jr. had a big game for Louisville, scoring 21 points. The Cardinals defeated the Tigers earlier this season, handing Clemson one of its two ACC regular-season losses.

ACC 2025 Men’s Basketball Tournament

March 11-15, 2025

Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

(All Times ET)

Tuesday’s Results (First Round)

Game 1: No. 12 Notre Dame 55, No. 13 Pitt 54

Game 2: No. 15 California 82, No. 10 Virginia Tech 73

Game 3: No. 14 Syracuse 66, No. 11 Florida State 62

Wednesday’s Results (Second Round)

Game 4: No. 8 Georgia Tech 66, No. 9 Virginia 60

Game 5: No. 5 North Carolina 76, No. 12 Notre Dame 56

Game 6: No. 7 Stanford 78, No. 15 California 73

Game 7: No. 6 SMU 73, No. 14 Syracuse 53

Thursday’s Results (Quarterfinals)

Game 8: No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 Georgia Tech 70

Game 9: No. 5 North Carolina 68, No. 4 Wake Forest 59

Game 10: No. 2 Louisville 75, No. 7 Stanford 73

Game 11: No. 3 Clemson 57, No. 6 SMU 54

Friday’s Results (Semifinals)

Game 12: No. 1 Duke 74, No. 5 North Carolina 71

Game 13: No. 2 Louisville 76, No. 3 Clemson 73

Saturday, March 15 (Championship)

Game 14: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Louisville, ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

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