Bracket Watch: Winning streak has Tigers in hunt for NCAAs bid |
A four-game ACC winning streak has
Brad Brownell’s Tigers right in the mix for a second-straight NCAA Tournament bid.
A 1-5 ACC start had those projections in a pretty bleak condition but the strength of schedule in that stretch shows in Clemson’s tournament resume. Three of those losses came versus ranked opponents - two inside the top-5 (Duke and Virginia) - and the other two came on the road at teams currently projected in the NCAA Tourney field (Florida State and Syracuse). USA TODAY has Clemson in its projected field among the last four in, while the team on the other side of the buzzer-beater loss before the winning streak in the first four out (NC State). They send the Tigers to the Dayton, Ohio play-in game versus Indiana. TeamRankings.com's metrics project a 19-12 finish for the Tigers and a spot just inside the field. CBS Sports has Clemson in the First Four, facing Temple. Sports Illustrated has Clemson more firmly in the field as a 10-seed in the East. This season’s bracketology sends RPI on its way and introduces the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, which weigh a number of factors - including strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, offensive/defensive efficiency and quality of wins and losses. In Clemson’s case, that only helps the Tigers, as they hold a No. 37 NET but just a No. 48 ranking in the RPI. With the road ahead, Clemson has some resume-builders left with four teams ranked in the NET top-50 with a trip to Louisville (15) and hosting Florida State (25), North Carolina (9) and Syracuse (48). Next up is a road game at Miami Wednesday (No. 88 NET). Clemson NCAA Tournament profile Record: 15-8 (5-5 ACC) NET: 37 Record v. NET Quadrant 1 & 2: 4-8 Strength of Schedule: 25 Average NET of Wins: 153 Average NET of Losses: 29 Bad losses (150+ NET): None Road/neutral record: 4-6 KenPom: 31 Record v. current KenPom top-50: 2-7 Top-25 ranked wins (at the time): No. 11 Virginia Tech (59-51 at home). Last 10: 5-5
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