Category: NCAA Basketball

Where Clemson ranks in Joe Lunardi’s Tuesday Bracketology

Clemson is up a spot in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology projections for ESPN as of Jan. 30.

Clemson has fallen sharply both in the Top 25 polls and in different Bracketology projections since the beginning of the year, but a hard-fought stumble at No. 7 Duke, a game the Tigers could have easily won, moved Clemson up a spot in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN.

The Tigers (13-6 overall) entered New Year’s Day with an 11-1 record and a No. 16 ranking in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches Polls. They’ve since won just two games and can only hope that things get a little easier with four of their next six contests at home, including Tuesday night’s tussle with Louisville. The game is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. EST and will be broadcast by ACC Network.

For now, though,  Clemson received a bit of a boost when the team moved slightly upwards in Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update — from a projected No. 7 seed to a 6 seed.

Lunardi now projects the Tigers to face the winner of a play-in game between Seton Hall and Colorado, who would qualify as a No. 11 seed.

The theoretical Clemson vs. Seton Hall/Colorado matchup would take place in the East Region, which is scheduled to host games in Memphis, Indianapolis, Spokane and Brooklyn before the regional finals a week later at Boston’s TD Garden.

Other teams in the East Region, according to Lunardi’s forecasts, are No. 1 seed Connecticut, the defending national champions and current No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches Poll rankings; projected No. 2 seed Wisconsin, 3 seed Alabama, and 4th-seeded Duke. Lunardi sees both the Badgers and Crimson Tide winning their respective conference tournaments to earn higher seeds as automatic qualifiers.

The three other No. 6 seeds in Lunardi’s new Bracketology predictions are Utah State (Midwest Regional), Oklahoma (South), and Florida Atlantic (West).

Lunardi’s projections still award the most tournament bids per conference to the Big 12 with nine total. The SEC is second with eight schools projected to make the field of 68.

Only Clemson, Duke, and No. 3 North Carolina are currently projected by Lunardi to make the NCAA Tournament from the ACC. That’s tied with the Pac-12 and American Conferences for the fewest projected schools of any major conference.

North Carolina (18-3) is projected as a 1 seed in the West Regional, to be completed at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

Clemson Tigers vs. Louisville Cardinals: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to Tuesday’s game against Louisville.

Clemson has a quick turnaround in ACC play when the Tigers host Louisville Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers (13-6 overall, 3-5 ACC) will have to regroup in a hurry after losing a 72-71 heartbreaker to No. 7 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Clemson led by two possessions late in the game with a chance to extend the lead, but three straight turnovers cost the Tigers a chance at putting the game out of reach.

Clemson will also have to avoid a trap game when it takes on a Louisville team that’s dead last in the ACC at 6-14 overall and 1-8 in conference play. The Cardinals have won only once since a December 17 victory over Pepperdine.

Louisville coach Kenny Payne’s job is in serious jeopardy, if not already a predetermined fate. Since being named head coach in March 2022, Payne has led the once-proud Cardinals program to just 10 wins in 42 games.

6’5″ sophomore guard Mike James has been Louisville’s top scorer this season, averaging 13.7 points per game. Skyy Clark is right behind him with 13.2 points per game.

Series Notes and Recent History

Since joining the ACC for the 2014-15 season, Louisville holds a slight 6-5 edge in head to head play. Prior to that, Clemson was 0-3 all-time against the Cardinals. The two teams met twice last season, with Clemson winning 83-70 at Littlejohn in January and Louisville notching an 83-73 win in the Bluegrass State a month later.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Tuesday’s game vs. Louisville.

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 30

Time: 9 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: ACC Network

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 390)

Broadcast Teams

ACC Network: Wes Durham, Dan Bonner

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Clemson remains shut out of AP Top 25 poll for Week 13

A rundown of the new AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll for Monday, January 29.

For the third straight week, Clemson remained out of the weekly AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday. It marked the second straight week that the Tigers received no votes for top 25 consideration from the various writers and broadcasters who make up the AP poll.

Clemson was one play away from knocking off Duke over the weekend at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the Blue Devils prevailed, 72-71, after a series of close calls went their way in the closing seconds of the game. Clemson fell to just 2-5 in their first seven games since ACC play resumed on Jan. 3.

North Carolina (17-3 overall) remained the ACC’s highest ranked team at No. 3, followed by Duke, who jumped five spots to move to No. 7. No other ACC schools were ranked.

All told, the top five teams remained the same from last week’s rankings.

Defending national champion Connecticut (18-2) stayed No. 1 for the third week in a row and received 48 first-place votes. The Huskies have won eight straight games.

Purdue (19-2) received 14 first-place votes and was ranked No. 2. Houston (18-2) stayed at No. 4 and Tennessee (15-4) rounded out the top five.

The Big 12 had the most ranked teams of any conference with eight total.

What Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s loss to Duke

What Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after the Tigers’ loss to Duke Saturday.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell had never sounded more irate than he did after the Tigers’ 72-71 loss to Duke on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The loss came after an evening of close and often controversial calls went against Clemson (13-6 overall, 3-5 ACC).

Here’s what Brownell had to say after Saturday’s game.

On the officiating:

“I’m angry. Trying to watch what I say here a little bit, but yeah, the game felt like it was taken from us a little bit at the end. We had (missed) chances. There were a couple of opportunities for us to finish the game (including) several on offense, but we had a couple of turnovers. I thought the last one was probably a really good play by their post player. I thought Mark Mitchell made a really tough steal. The play before was really the one that was a killer.

“Having said that, I’m so proud of our team and our players for the way they competed. It was a tough day all day. We couldn’t score for a long time and had a hard time manufacturing baskets. Certainly Duke had something to do with it. I thought their defense was good. It was a battle. I really thought we were going to win this game. We made some big plays and some big shots. I’m just really proud of our players. Obviously we had a couple of whistles down the stretch that is just real perplexing is all I can say. It’s really frustrating.”

On the technical foul assessed to Jack Clark in the first half:

“They said he shoved the ball into him. I watched it on (replay) myself because obviously we don’t condone that kind of behavior here. When I saw it, it didn’t look like much. To be given a technical on that is ridiculous. That’s (allowing) the emotion of the building affect the officials and creating stuff that’s not even there. I thought that happened to us several (times) today.”

On getting a good performance from the bench for a second straight game:

“The guys were terrific. We have some athletes there. Josh (Beadle), Jack, RJ (Godfrey) and Dillon (Hunter), I thought those guys brought a little juice. They bring some athleticism defensively. They bring some speed, and it really helps our team get a little bit of a different look. I’m proud of those guys. I think they’ve done a lot of good things here recently. Our bench is getting better. I said this a while back, maybe seven to 10 days ago, that I think they are a real key to us finishing the season the way we all want to. We need them and their good play to continue.”

On PJ Hall’s effort:

“He was good. I thought he was getting hit some. It was hard. I was a little frustrated. I think there were times that PJ played maybe not as protected as some of the other players in our league. It frustrates me, but I give him credit. There were some times where we started poorly. He could have gotten frustrated, but he just hung in there. He made some big-time plays down the stretch.”

On having four of the next six games at home:

“Yeah, our team is fine. We’re going to bounce back. This (loss) will hurt tonight. Certainly our guys are emotionally drained and really upset in the locker room as you would imagine. So we’ve got to dust ourselves off. We’ve got a quick turnaround here (Tuesday) with a 9 o’clock game against Louisville, another group of athletes that are going to come after us so we’ve got to be able to compete.”

Missed opportunities, controversial calls cost Clemson in loss to Duke

A recap of Clemson’s heartbreaking 72-71 loss to No. 12 Duke Saturday.

Clemson couldn’t overcome three consecutive turnovers late in the second half, nor a sequence of controversial calls in the closing seconds, en route to a 72-71 loss to No. 12 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday

The Tigers (13-6 overall, 3-5 ACC) fought hard and had a chance to put the game away late, but Ian Schieffelin’s three turnovers on three straight possessions kept hope alive for Duke, who went ahead for good with one second left on the clock after a controversial foul call on Josh Beadle sent Tyrese Proctor to the foul line.

Proctor sank both shots to give the Blue Devils (15-4 overall, 6-2 ACC) their 21st consecutive victory over Clemson at Cameron dating back to 1995.

Proctor’s game-clinching free throws came after referees missed what appeared to be an obvious traveling violation by the star Duke guard just a split second before they blew the whistle on Beadle.

It was a sequence of events that caused Clemson coach Brad Brownell to toss his jacket to the floor in frustration. Brownell remained heated well after the game.

“I’m angry, I’m not going to lie to you. I have to watch what I say here, but yeah, the game felt like it was taken from us a little at the end,” Brownell said afterwards.

Duke went to the foul line 25 times in the second half and shot free throws on seven of its last 12 possessions.

Then there was the bizarre technical foul assessed to Clemson’s Jack Clark in the first half after referees ruled that the senior forward had shoved the ball at an opposing player.

“Obviously we don’t condone that kind of behavior here, but when I saw (the replay), it didn’t look like much,” Brownell said. “To be given a technical on that is ridiculous. That’s letting the emotion of the building affect the officials and creating stuff that’s not even there. I thought that happened to us several times today.”

Duke used a 14-2 run to get out to a 29-20 lead early. But Clemson closed the opening period on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 32-26 at intermission.

Then the Tigers turned things on in the second half. PJ Hall drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Clemson its first lead of the half at 57-56 with 7:31 to play. Clemson would up the lead to four after Hall sank a pair of free throws with 2:15 to play, making it 69-65.

But Jared McCain made a steal after a bad pass from Schieffelin to race the length of the floor to cut the lead to 69-67 with 1:25 left.

After Mark Mitchell made a steal on Schieffelin’s third straight turnover, Kyle Filipowski went straight to the basket, sank a shot, and drew a foul to put Duke ahead 70-69 with 15.2 to play.

Hall drew a foul from Filipowski with 7.4 left on the ensuing possession, marking the first time the 7-foot center had fouled out all season. Hall hit two free throws to put Clemson back ahead, 71-70.

After Proctor sank both baskets following the foul call on Beadle, Clemson still had enough time to get off a full-court heave.

When Hall and Mitchell collided near the basket following the inbound pass, Brownell pleaded for a review after the buzzer sounded but to no avail. Afterwards, Brownell and an assistant coach could be seen by ESPN cameras trying to restrain senior Joe Girard from confronting the officials as they walked off the court.

Chalk it up to the type of Cameron craziness that opposing teams and fans have come to both expect and fear over the years.

“I’m really proud of our players. Obviously we had a couple of whistles down the stretch that’s just perplexing is all I can say. It’s really frustrating,” Brownell said.

McCain led Duke with 21 points and Proctor finished with 18. Mitchell added 13.

Clemson got 19 points from Hall and 13 from Girard. Chase Hunter added 11, and the Tigers’ reserves — Clark, Beadle, RJ Godfrey and Dillon Hunter — had a second straight impressive showing with a combined 20 points off the bench.

Clemson will host Louisville (6-14 overall, 1-8 ACC) Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

Clemson Tigers vs. Duke Blue Devils: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s how Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to Saturday’s game against ACC rival Duke.

Clemson is facing its toughest road test to date this season when the Tigers travel to Durham to face ACC rival No. 12 Duke Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Tigers’ 1-4 start in their first five games of the new year against ACC competition didn’t do much to inspire confidence, but the team is hoping to build off its double-digit road win at Florida State last week.

Clemson’s bench had 28 points to help lead the Tigers (13-5 overall, 3-4 ACC) to a much-needed victory after an embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech three nights earlier. Josh Beadle played 27 minutes — one shy of a career best — off the bench and posted his first game in double digits this year with 12 points.

Jack Clark, the senior transfer from NC State, played a season-high 21 minutes and scored seven points to go with seven rebounds.

The starting trio of PJ Hall, Joe Girard, and Chase Hunter gives Clemson the most spark on offense, with Hall averaging 19.7 points per game this season. The senior scored 26 and 31 points in back to back games before last weekend’s bout in Tallahassee. Ian Schieffelin has remained a solid post presence, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game.

For Duke (14-4 overall, 5-2 ACC), 7-foot center Kyle Filipowski has started all 18 games this season and leads the team with an average of 18.2 points per game and nine rebounds.

Senior guard Jeremy Roach averages 14.4 per game, but his status for Saturday is in doubt. He’s listed as questionable after suffering a foot injury in the first half of Duke’s 83-69 win at Louisville on Tuesday.

Sophomore Tyrese Proctor is healthy and back to playing over 30 minutes a game after a knee injury in early December sidelined him for almost a month. Proctor posted a career-high 24 points against Louisville.

Series Notes and Recent History

Duke leads the all-time series, 102-31. The Tigers defeated Duke in the schools’ last meeting at Littlejohn Coliseum in 2023. Clemson hasn’t won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995 when the program was guided by then-head coach Rick Barnes.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game at Duke.

Date: Saturday, Jan. 27

Time: 4 p.m. EST

Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium

TV Channel: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 385)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN: Dave O’Brien, Cory Alexander

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Clemson hoping for rare win at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Clemson’s basketball team will be looking to do something it’s accomplished only twice since 1980 when the Tigers visit Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday.

Few visiting teams are known for their success at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Clemson is no exception.

In fact, the Tigers (13-5 overall, 3-4 conference) will be looking to do something they have done only twice since the late 70s when they take the floor Saturday afternoon: earn a win on the Blue Devils’ storied home court.

Duke (14-4 overall, 5-2 conference) is ranked No. 12 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. Clemson is unranked after having been as high as No. 16 in the polls at the start of the year.

While Clemson has had some sporadic success against Duke on the Tigers’ home court over the years, including two wins in the Blue Devils’ last three trips to Littlejohn Coliseum, they’ve won only twice at ‘Cameron’ since the dawn of the 80s.

This weekend, the Tigers are seeking their first win in Durham since Jan. 4, 1995. That season is infamous in Duke and ACC basketball lore because of how uncharacteristically woeful the Blue Devils were. They finished just 2-14 in ACC play, and coach Mike Krzyzewski stepped away from the team mid-season due to illness.

Not surprisingly, that was also the last time the Tigers swept both games from Duke in the regular season.

Clemson’s only other win at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1980 was all the way back on Feb. 29, 1984. Before that, you’d have to travel even further back to 1978, two years before Krzyzewski began his 42-year run at Duke as a Hall of Fame coach.

More recently, Clemson defeated Duke in the two schools’ last meeting at Littlejohn in January of last year. PJ Hall scored 26 points to lift the Tigers to a 72-64 win in that contest. The last time Clemson visited Durham, they came up just short of an upset in Krzyzewski’s last season as coach with a 71-69 loss in 2022.

Duke leads the all-time series vs. Clemson, 102-31.

The Blue Devils defeated Louisville, 83-69, earlier this week. Clemson beat Florida State in the Tigers’ last contest on Jan. 20. Saturday’s tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST and will be televised nationally by ESPN.