Clemson’s three straight losses to Miami, No. 4 North Carolina, and Virginia Tech in ACC play dropped the Tigers out of the latest AP and USA TODAY Top 25 Coaches polls this week, as well as Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology rankings released on Tuesday.
After being projected as high as a No. 2 seed (eighth overall) by the longtime bracket analyst just two weeks earlier, Clemson’s three losses have dropped the Tigers to a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s projections.
In his latest update, Lunardi projects Clemson (12-5 overall, 2-4 conference) to face McNeese State from the Southland Conference. McNeese is Lunardi’s projected Southland Conference champion and thus would make the tournament as an automatic qualifier.
Other No. 5 seeds in Lunardi’s forecast are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Dayton. To no surprise, the ACC’s top-ranked teams in North Carolina and Duke are projected as two of the higher seeds — with the Tar Heels projected as a No. 1 seed in the South region (Dallas) and Duke as a No. 3 seed in the East region (Boston).
The Tigers lost, 65-55, to North Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 6. They’ll travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke near the end of the month on Jan. 27. Clemson will then face a rematch with North Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill.
Lunardi’s rankings award the most amount of tournament bids by conference to the SEC and Big 12 with eight apiece. The Big Ten is second with seven schools projected to make the field of 68. The ACC is tied with the Mountain West conference with a projected five bids, one spot behind the Big East’s six projected bids.