There are many words one can use to describe March Madness. The annual collegiate tournament can be referred to as chaotic. It can be seen as energetic. It’s inspirational, fast paced, electric, and dramatic. Above all else, there’s one word to describe the tournament that reigns supreme.
Unpredictable.
With the shocking upsets and the magical Cinderella teams, one should never confidently predict the outcome of any individual match. With that said, due to the random nature of the tournament, one should never discredit a prediction either. It’s an interesting dynamic that only really exists in the scope of March Madness. Credited experts can make the most outrageous claims with little rebuttal, and they often take full advantage of the opportunity. The days leading up to the tournament are full of expert analysts, seemingly attempting to “out chaos” each other with the most outlandish game predictions. No matter how far they push the needle, reality always seems to trump their wildest expectations. This vastly unpredictable nature allows for a beautiful “free for all” for otherwise careful analysts, which allows us, the consumer, to see where their opinions truly lie. This is absolutely apparent through one CBS sports analyst, who brought forth a bold prediction for the Clemson Tigers.
The former Ohio State basketball legend and now esteemed CBS anchor predicted the Tigers to advance all the way to the national championship, where they would get past Duke in the final four, and fall to the Florida Gators in the title game.
“Clemson is my dark horse. They’re rugged, they almost got to the final four last year with a number of the same guys”
Clark Kellog, CBS Sports
As he mentioned, Clemson has experience with shocking runs in the tournament. Last season the Tigers advanced beyond New Mexico, Baylor, and a seemingly stronger Arizona team to advance to the elite eight. They ran into one of the most explosive offenses in basketball, and the Crimson Tide’s 89 points proved to be too much for the Tigers. However, this season Clemson has built a much more impressive resume than the season before, and one can absolutely predict the Tigers to make a similar, and possibly even more historic run in this year’s tournament.
Compared to last season, Clemson is superior in almost any other metric. Their 26 regular season victories, 18 ACC victories, and eight consecutive wins to close out the regular season were all program records. Their 22nd Net ranking, 5-3 Quad One record, and defensive rating all trump their efforts this past season. Their defensive efficiency rating jumped from 160th last season to 28th this year, which could be massive should the Tigers pull a similar opponent in the elite eight this season.
In order to see the title game, Clemson will first have to make it past McNeese State. From there, they would see the winner of the Purdue/High Point matchup to advance to the Sweet 16. The Tigers would then expect to see either Houston, Gonzaga, or Georgia, assuming there isn’t a shocking run from a 16 seed. From then on Clemson could run into an array of opponents, most notably being the University of Kentucky in the elite eight, and Duke in the final four. Kentucky and Duke are two teams Clemson upset in the regular season, and a rematch with the highly decorated programs would be a sight to see.
Overall, the Tigers have proven they can make noise in the tournament. They’re coming off a historic tournament run, and are fresh off the greatest win streak in the 114 year history of the program. This is the most successful season in the history of Clemson basketball, and the Tigers have proven they can defeat top end talent. With that said, there’s nothing more unpredictable than March Madness, and it’ll be exciting to see what Clemson can do in this year’s tournament.
