Brownell says Clemson can win 'multiple games' in NCAA Tournament

Brad Brownell sees a Clemson team poised to make some noise if given the chance in the NCAA Tournament.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Mar 05 09:04:37 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Not only does Brad Brownell think his Tigers are an NCAA Tournament team, he also thinks Clemson can win multiple games in the tourney.

Clemson defeated Notre Dame 87-64 in Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday night to complete the regular season and improve to 22-9 overall and 14-6 in the ACC. Clemson’s win, combined with Pitt’s loss to Miami, gives Clemson the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. The win marks the first time Clemson has finished as a three-seed or higher since the 2007-08 season.

Most seasons, that type of record would certainly give an ACC team a chance at a top-five seed or better heading into the tournament, but the perception that the ACC is suffering a down year and the Tigers’ bad losses to teams like South Carolina, Loyola, and Louisville have Clemson squarely on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament.

Brownell was asked after the win over Notre Dame to say why he thinks his team deserves an NCAA Tournament slot, and he said Clemson can win multiple games in the tournament. All they need is a chance.

“I think we've had a terrific year. We've had some injuries at some inopportune times that have caused us some problems,” Brownell said. “But we've had a lot of performances like tonight. I know at one point here we had four Quad 1 wins, and three of them were away from home. And I think winning away from home is significant. And to do it as we've done is impressive. We've had a lot of games where we've beat people handily. We've had a couple of bad nights, but if you look at who we've beaten and who we can play with, there is no question we can go into the tournament and win games. Win multiple games.”

Senior Hunter Tyson said he doesn’t spend time worrying about the NCAA Tournament – his focus is on the ACC Tournament.

“We’ve got some Quad 1 wins and obviously got some losses that have hurt us. I understand that,” Tyson said. “We had to better after those losses, and we have been better. But at the end of the day, you can’t really worry about all of that because then your mind is elsewhere. We’ve got a job to do. We’ve got a few days to prepare, and we’ll be ready to go when it’s our time to play.”

The ACC Tournament starts Tuesday, and Clemson will face either the winner of the Virginia Tech/Notre Dame game or NC State Thursday at 9:30 pm (approximately). Brownell said he is thankful for the double-bye.

“It's interesting, I think sometimes if you do win a game and then in the second game, it helps. Because you've been in the arena, and you've made some baskets, and you've had some positive experiences,” he said. “I felt like it helped us a little bit last year. But we all would rather have that bye, and that part is good. We get to be off tomorrow (Sunday), and guys can relax a little bit. And then, we can focus and have three days to get ready for the tournament.”

Brownell said the ACC Tournament is wide open and that any one of six or seven teams can walk away with the championship.

“I believe in this team, and I believe in what we are doing. It's going to be a terrific environment. As a player and coach, you want to have these opportunities. We know we are going to have to play high-level basketball,” Brownell said. “We don't have those one or two super teams. It seems like most years, we have those one or two teams that are just elite, top-10 or whatever. And I think that is probably why our league is getting roughed up a little bit is because we don't have that. But we have quality teams that can go beat anybody.”