After two straight losses in ACC play to Miami and No. 7 North Carolina to begin 2024, Clemson has been left reeling a bit in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, as well as Joe Lunardi’s updated Bracketology rankings released Tuesday morning.
The longtime ESPN bracket analyst had projected Clemson as a No. 2 seed (eighth overall) in his Bracketology rankings just a week ago on Jan. 2. That was before the Tigers fell in back to back games for the first time all season.
Noting that the ACC has been “kicked to the curb” in recent weeks, Lunardi dropped Clemson to a No. 4 seed in this week’s projected field of 68. Lunardi’s latest projections have the Tigers playing in the Los Angeles Region when March Madness tips off.
Another school Lunardi projects as a No. 4 seed? Duke, who the Tigers will visit near the end of the month on Jan. 27 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Lunardi’s rankings currently award the most amount of tournament bids by conference to the SEC and Big 12 with eight apiece. The Big Ten and Big East are second with six apiece, and the ACC is third with five bids. North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Miami and Wake Forest are the five ACC schools Lunardi projects to make the tournament as of Jan. 9.
Clemson (11-3 overall, 1-2 conference) will look to get back in the win column when the Tigers return to action Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum for a 7 p.m. EST tipoff against Virginia Tech (9-4 overall, 1-2 conference). The game will be televised by ESPN.