Clemson basketball gets no respect.
Sure, that sounds like something from the vernacular of Rodney Dangerfield, but in this case, it is more of an irrefutable fact. That the Tigers were given a five seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament is a comical travesty given their body of work and how it measures up against several teams seeded higher.
You will never hear the players or head coach Brad Brownell say it, but Clemson basketball got shafted. Let us take a deeper dive into how, shall we?
Clemson basketball finished the season, including the ACC Tournament, with stellar 27-6 record. So stellar it set a new program record for wins in a season. The Tigers finished ACC play with an 18-2 record, tied for second with Louisville, but Cardinals received the higher seed in the conference tournament due to beating Clemson head-to-head. It was one of only two losses Clemson suffered all season to ranked teams.
But what did Clemson basketball do against other ranked opponents? The Tigers have two of the most impressive quad one wins on their resume than most anyone else in the country can claim. They defeated Kentucky, and more notably, the Duke Blue Devils. You know, the number one seed Blue Devils? Yea, them.
But sure, give a Clemson team that has played exemplary basketball all season, and who has one of the more impressive litany of wins in the nation, a seed such that they will play number one seeded Houston in the Sweet 16 should they get there.
It has been floated about that perhaps the selection committee seeded Clemson basketball fifth so they could match up with McNeese State and former Clemson player and head coach of McNeese, Will Wade. Right. Never let common sense stand in the way of a good story.
Or, maybe, take a look at some of the teams seeded higher than the Tigers with far less impressive numbers to back up their awarded status in the field of 68. One glaring example is that of Kentucky. The very same Kentucky that Clemson handled at Littlejohn Coliseum early in the season. The same Kentucky team that was awarded a three seed despite finishing just sixth in their conference with a 10-8 record and only 22-11 overall.
Make that make sense. A team that finishes with four more losses, four spots lower in their conference standings, and who you beat, gets seeded two spots higher. I guess it just means more in the SEC, who by the way, got 14 of its 16 teams into the field. That is absolutely absurd. Even Texas, who barely finished with a winning record at 19-15, and who had a woeful 6-12 conference record, got in the tournament.
But sure, a Clemson basketball team who was among the best squads in the country all season finishes 21 games over .500 and is seeded fifth. Sell that somewhere else. Yes, the ACC was down during the 2024-25 season, but that takes absolutely nothing away from what the Tigers did, and could still do.
Me personally, I have another theory. Retaliation. And it did not start on selection Sunday, but rather, in Charlotte on Friday night in a rematch with Louisville in the ACC Tournament semifinals when Clemson was utterly reamed on a no call when Chase Hunter was mugged on his way to the game-tying lay-up in the final seconds following a furious rally down the stretch. That was bad enough.
Everyone knows that Clemson University was involved in a bitter and contentious lawsuit against the ACC along with Florida State. That was recently settled, but do not think for an instant that the conference hierarchy has or will forget Clemson taking them to task.
I happen to believe that, with several representatives of the ACC sitting on the selection committee, that the powers that be simply found a more subtle way to punish the university. By giving their highly successful men’s basketball team the lowest seed that could fathomably justify in the eyes of the national media, fans, and public at large.
Clemson basketball deserved a higher seed. Probably a three seed given their overall body of work, conference record, and impressive quad one victories. A five seed is unacceptable. But what can you do but play the hand you’re dealt? The Tigers will do that, and if there is any justice they will advance further in the tournament than last season when the team made it all the way to the Elite 8.
Even CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellog officially picked Clemson to not only reach the Final 4, but to advance to the national championship game. I suppose he knows something that the selection committee does not.
Then, Clemson basketball could wave off the final degradation handed to them last Sunday and prove once and for all that they deserve the respect that has to this point been denied.
