Bracket Update: Where Clemson stands after historic win at No. 3 UNC |
What a difference a big road win can make this time of year.
We’re still over a month away from NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday (March 17), but the Tigers’ historic 80-76 victory at No. 3 North Carolina has done plenty to boost Clemson. For the program’s highest-ranked road win since 1976, the Tigers notched their fourth NCAA NET Quadrant 1 win on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, which makes the resume stand out. The Tigers (15-7) are up to No. 29 in the NET, and in the Top 40 of those rankings, only 15 other teams have tallied four or more Q1 victories. Clemson has had its chances, too, going up against the No. 8-ranked strength of schedule. Brad Brownell's group has been able to avoid bad losses as well, with one defeat in the lower half of the NET quadrants (Q3 versus Georgia Tech). Only one NET Top 40 team has multiple Q3/Q4 losses. Clemson finished with five of those defeats last year. ESPN's latest projection bumped Clemson up one spot to a No. 7 seed after Tuesday's win, with four bids for the ACC. Before the win, CBS Sports' latest prediction had Clemson as a 6-seed. The Tigers’ road ahead currently has one NET Q1 opportunity and a number of solid matchups to build a case for a better seed. With nine games left before DC’s ACC Tournament, here’s how the schedule works out: at Syracuse on Saturday (noon/ESPN2; Q2 game - Syracuse is No. 87 in NET), Miami on Feb. 14 (Q2; 68), NC State on Feb. 17 (Q3; 80), at Georgia Tech on Feb. 21 (Q2; 132), Florida State on Feb. 24 (Q3; 92), Pitt on Feb. 27 (Q2; 61), at Notre Dame on March 2 (Q3; 167), Syracuse (Q3; 87) and at Wake Forest (Q1; 33). Clemson NCAA Tournament profile Record: 15-7 Road/neutral record: 7-4 Strength of schedule: 8 Record vs. NET Quadrant 1: 4-4 (Wins: 85-77 at No. 6 Alabama; 80-76 at No. 10 UNC; 74-66 versus No. 37 TCU; 79-70 at No. 61 Pitt) Quadrant 3/4 losses: 1 (93-90 to No. 132 GT at home) Result-based metric average: 18 Predictive metric average rank: 31.5 NET ranking: 29 Non-conference record: 10-1 (NET metrics per WarrenNolan)
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