Bracket Watch: Clemson moves up in seed projections heading into March |
As the calendar turns to March, Clemson's winning basketball lately has surged them into the conversation for a top-4 seed nationally, as well as in a good spot for the upcoming ACC Tournament (March 9-13).
CBS Sports moved Brad Brownell's Tigers up a seed-line for a second-straight projection -- now a No. 4 taking on projected SoCon champ UNC-Greensboro. On average, the top bracketologists have Clemson as a 6-seed currently with picks as high as No. 3. Saturday's win over Miami wasn't a resume-booster for the NCAA NET ranking (34; down 2) or the KenPom rating (38; down 1), with the overall strength of schedule slightly down (14; down 5 spots) but the non-conference strength of schedule vaulted 14 spots over the weekend (to 78th). Part of the latter jump was the Maryland win moving back into a Quadrant 1 victory, improving the Tigers' record to 4-5 against Q1 teams. For the ACC Tournament, Clemson's path to a double-bye is clear if the current schedule holds. With Louisville heading to Virginia Tech on Wednesday, a result there -- either way with both slightly ahead of Clemson in the standings -- guarantees that the Tigers (9-5 ACC) can clinch a top-4 seed and a double-bye by sweeping dates at Syracuse Wednesday (5 p.m./ACCN/No. 61 KenPom) and at home with Pitt Saturday (noon/RSN/No. 8 KenPom) based on win percentage. North Carolina (9-5) is right there if the Tigers were to stumble this week and wrap their slate at Syracuse Monday and then Duke on Saturday. The Hokies (9-4) finish their regular season at NC State and Louisville (8-4) hosts Virginia on Saturday. Clemson NCAA Tourney profile Record: 15-5 NET: 34 KenPom: 38 Strength of schedule: 14 Non-conference SOS: 78 Record vs. Quadrant 1 teams*: 4-5 (wins over NET No. 7 Alabama, No. 15 FSU, No. 21 Purdue and No. 29 Maryland) Quadrant 3 or 4 losses: None. * 1-30 NET teams at home, 1-50 at neutral sites, 1-75 in away games.
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