Two Prominent Analysts Don't View Clemson As Legitimate Title Contenders

The Clemson Tigers men's basketball team is flying under the radar heading down the stretch of the regular season.

Feb 26, 2025; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson team celebrates their win against Notre Dame at Littlejohn Coliseum. | Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team had one of the most successful campaigns in 2023-24, advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, tying the deepest run in program history.

Heading into the 2024-25 season, there were some skeptics about whether or not they could replicate that performance.

They lost some key players, such as leading scorers PJ Hall and Joe Girard III, and only 46.4% of the minutes played and 39.8% of the scoring from last year’s Elite Eight team returned, so the skepticism was warranted in some regard.

However, the team quickly proved that last season’s performance was no fluke, as they have steadily cemented themselves as one of the better teams in the country.

Heading down the stretch of the regular season, the Tigers are the No. 13 team in the country and are continually rising.

They sit 22-5 overall with a 15-2 record in the ACC and looked poised to land a No. 3 or 4 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament as long as there aren’t any major hiccups down the stretch.

However, ESPN analysts Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf are not yet ready to anoint Clemson as title contenders this year.

In a recent piece, they broke down the eight teams they believe can bring home the championship in April.

The Tigers were just on the outside looking in, placed amongst the 22 teams that were labeled as “near misses”.

Their ACC rivals, the Louisville Cardinals, were in the same tier as them, with Pat Kelsey pulling off a remarkable turnaround in his first year on the job.

The Duke Blue Devils, whom the Tigers defeated to kickoff their current five-game winning streak, are the sole ACC representative amongst the eight teams Borzello and Medcalf believe can win it all.

Joining the Blue Devils in the top tier are the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Houston Cougars, Iowa State Cyclones, St. John’s Red Storm and Tennessee Volunteers.

Clemson, however, should not be counted out since they do fit some of the historic trends and statistics for champions in recent seasons.

KenPom has them as the No. 19 team in the country with the No. 16 ranked offense and No. 28 ranked defense.

A veteran-laden team, with eight of their nine leading scorers being upperclassmen, they have the right mix to factor into the title discussion even though they didn’t make Borzello and Medcalf’s list.