With a tremendous regular season behind them, the 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers (26-5, 18-2 ACC) are focused on the upcoming ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Brad Brownell’s team earned the No. 3 seed in the bracket, and will face Florida State, Syracuse, or SMU in their first game of the event on Thursday at approximately 9:30 p.m. The Seminoles and Orange will match up on Tuesday in the opening round, with the winner taking on the Mustangs a day later.
Last time out, the Tigers defeated Virginia Tech on Senior Day inside Littlejohn Coliseum by a 65-47 final score. Viktor Lakhin tallied 16 points and 7 rebounds and Clemson scored 44 points in the paint to beat the Hokies. Virginia Tech shot just 41.3% from the field, as leading scorer Tobi Lawal was held to 5 points on 2-7 shooting.
The win tied a program record for the Tigers, matching the 26 victories of the 1990 team, which went on to win an ACC regular-season title
Tigers in the ACC Tournament (by season)
2024: Second round (loss to Boston College)
2023: Semifinals (loss to Virginia)
2022: Second round (loss to Virginia Tech)
2021: Second round (loss to Miami)
Possible Clemson Opponents:
No. 11 seed Florida State Seminoles (17–14, 8–12 ACC)
Head coach: Leonard Hamilton (23rd and final season here, 37th overall, 460–295 at Florida State, 211–190 ACC)
- 2012 ACC Tournament champion
- 2020 ACC regular season champion
Advanced rankings*:
- 87 in Kenpom (Clemson is 19)
- 89 in NET (Clemson is 22)
- 84 in BPI (Clemson is 15)
* – out of all 364 Division I teams
Record by quadrant:
Quadrant 1: 1-6
Quadrant 2: 2-6
Quadrant 3: 8-1
Quadrant 4: 6-1
Notable wins: Wake Forest, SMU, Pitt
Notable losses: Virginia Tech, Boston College, Cal
Leading scorer: Jamir Watkins (guard #1), 18.5 points
Leading rebounder: Malique Ewin (forward #12), 7.8 rebounds
Assist leader: Daquan Davis (guard #5), 2.6 assists
Meetings this season:
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Clemson 77, Florida State 57 in Clemson, SC
Saturday, February 15, 2025
No. 23 Clemson 72, Florida State 46 in Tallahassee, FL
Outlook:
Clemson’s defense has proved challenging for the Seminoles to score on in both matchups. Watkins put up just 11 points at Littlejohn Coliseum, and 14 in his home arena. Jaeden Zackery’s perimeter defense will be tested against the talented senior from Trenton, N.J. In an intriguing battle of the bigs between FSU’s Malique Ewin and Clemson’s Viktor Lakhin, this one should be Clemson’s for the taking yet again.
No. 14 seed Syracuse Orange (13-18, 7-13 ACC)
Head coach: Adrian Autry (2nd season here, 33-30 at Syracuse, 18-22 ACC)
Advanced rankings*:
- 112 in Kenpom (Clemson is 19)
- 132 in NET (Clemson is 22)
- 96 in BPI (Clemson is 15)
* – out of all 364 Division I teams
Record by quadrant:
Quadrant 1: 0-9
Quadrant 2: 1-6
Quadrant 3: 6-3
Quadrant 4: 6-0
Notable wins: Cal, Notre Dame, Virginia
Notable losses: Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Miami
Leading scorer: J.J. Starling (guard #2), 17.5 points
Leading rebounder: Eddie Lampkin Jr. (center #44), 9.6 rebounds
Assist leader: Jaquan Carlos (guard #5), 4.1 assists
Meetings this season:
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Clemson 86, Syracuse 72 in Clemson, SC
Outlook:
Syracuse is a team that’s still looking for their identity in year two under Adrian Autry. A pair of 14-point wins over NC State and Virginia to end the season have to give Orange fans a better taste in their mouth heading to Charlotte. In the first meeting, CU shot a red-hot 45% from three and attempted 21 free throws. If Syracuse can’t contain Chase Hunter and Viktor Lakhin this time around, it could be a long night for them.
No. 6 seed SMU Mustangs (22-9, 13-7 ACC)
Head coach: (1st season here, 14th overall, 22-9 at SMU, 13-7 ACC)
- 2013 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (with Florida Gulf Coast)
- 2021 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 (with USC)
Advanced rankings*:
- 52 in Kenpom (Clemson is 19)
- 49 in NET (Clemson is 22)
- 46 in BPI (Clemson is 15)
* – out of all 364 Division I teams
Record by quadrant:
Quadrant 1: 0-4
Quadrant 2: 6-5
Quadrant 3: 11-0
Quadrant 4: 5-0
Notable wins: Pitt, LSU, Notre Dame
Notable losses: Butler, Stanford, Florida State
Leading scorer: Boopie Miller (guard #2), 13.4 points
Leading rebounder: Matt Cross (forward #33), 7.8 rebounds
Assist leader: Boopie Miller (guard #2), 5.7 assists
Meetings this season:
Saturday, February 22, 2025
No. 18 Clemson 79, SMU 69 in Dallas, TX
Outlook:
SMU is looking to climb back into NCAA Tournament contention with a strong week in Charlotte, and they’ll need a win over both their first opponent and the Tigers to make those ambitions a reality. The team has traded wins and losses in their last eight contests. One of those losses saw Clemson shoot 48.3% from three and control the game throughout. As for the x-factor, guard Boopie Miller has turned the ball over at least twice in the Mustangs’ last three games. It’ll likely be Jaeden Zackery’s job to make sure that streak continues.
