The preseason AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll was released Monday, three weeks before the Clemson Tigers open the 2024-25 season against Charleston Southern at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson was unranked in the preseason AP poll but received nine votes for Top 25 consideration by the various sportswriters and broadcasters who make up the poll.
The Tigers’ nine votes were tied with three other teams, including the Boise State Broncos, who Clemson will face Nov. 17 in a marquee nonconference matchup pitting two teams that reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Saint Louis Billikens and Providence Friars also received nine votes.
Outside the Top 25, a total of 13 teams received more votes than Clemson, meaning the Tigers are considered a top 40 team by the media members who make up the AP poll. Two of those teams were Wake Forest and Miami; the Demon Deacons with 37 votes and the Hurricanes with 11.
The Kansas Jayhawks were ranked preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 2 and two-time defending national champion UConn at No. 3. The Houston Cougars (No. 4) and Iowa State Cyclones (No. 5) rounded out the top five.
The ACC had just two teams ranked in the preseason poll: the Duke Blue Devils at No. 7 and North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 9.
Clemson made the NCAA Tournament last season as a No. 6 seed and reeled off three straight wins (against New Mexico, the Baylor Bears and Arizona Wildcats) to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980. The Tigers fell 89-82 to Alabama with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
This season, coach Brad Brownell’s team returns sixth-year senior guard Chase Hunter and senior forward Ian Schieffelin, the ACC’s Most Improved Player from a season ago.
Clemson and Charleston Southern are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 4 in the regular season opener.
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