Clemson’s basketball team may be the headline, but the squad is quietly fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Sitting at 31‑24 overall and the No. 15 seed in the ACC Tournament, the Tigers must win five consecutive games to earn an automatic bid.
A packed schedule in Charlotte
The six‑day tournament runs May 19‑24 at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clemson opens against Notre Dame at 5 p.m. ET on May 19, and the victor meets Virginia Tech at the same time on May 20. Both opponents handed the Tigers defeats earlier this season, adding urgency to the matchups.
Clemson finished 10‑20 in ACC play, a record that dropped them to the No. 15 seed and left them unranked in most NCAA projections. The team lost eight of its ten conference series, including a three‑game sweep by Notre Dame in March and another sweep by Virginia Tech in May.
Coach Erik Bakich, who guided the program to an ACC Tournament title in 2023 and a championship‑game appearance the following year, knows the stakes. ‘We’ve proven we can win big when it matters,’ Bakich said, ‘but this year the path is steeper than ever.’
If the Tigers stumble in the second round, their season will end without a fourth straight NCAA appearance, a scenario that would mark a rare downturn for a program that has become a staple of the tournament in recent years.