Clemson moves up in ESPN's NCAA Tournament re-seed after blowout win

Clemson was all smiles on Friday and sits a game away from the Sweet 16 and a trip to LA.

by TigerNet Staff - Sat Mar 23 11:10:00 GMT-04:00 2024

The sixth-seeded Clemson men's basketball team was a common pick as an upset victim in the traditional sense, although the 11th-seeded New Mexico Lobos were favored in Vegas.

With 32 NCAA Tournament games in, Brad Brownell's Tigers are still standing and one win over third-seeded Baylor on Sunday (6:10 EDT/TNT) from the West Region semifinals in Los Angeles.

ESPN slotted the Tigers up to a 5-seed in its re-seed of the tournament.

"Chase Hunter (21 points) led Clemson as the Lobos tried to make someone other than all-ACC first-teamer PJ Hall (14 points) beat them. But this Tigers team defeated Richard Pitino's squad with defensive pressure inside the arc -- the Lobos finished 16-for-41. Clemson was 1-3 in its previous four games in which every opponent made at least 48% of its 2-pointers. That trend changed Friday," said the ESPN analysis.

The site further expounded on the effort and what it means.

"The Tigers get another chance to show which side of the season's coin they are on. The team that won Friday looked far closer to the one that posted wins over Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina this season than the one that lumbered down the stretch," said ESPN. "Clemson played with intention on the defensive end early Friday, holding the high-powered Lobos to 29.7% shooting. Clemson held New Mexico's laser-quick guard tandem of Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House to a combined 5-of-25 shooting. The Tigers will need every bit of that effort Sunday against Baylor's spread-it-around offense. The Bears had four starters make at least two 3-pointers in their opening-round win over Colgate and they can stress teams all over the floor."

After a 92-67 win over 14-seed Colgate on Friday, Baylor opened as a 4.5-point favorite, the second-lowest among the Sunday NCAA Tournament lines and the fifth-closest of the second round overall going into Saturday's action.

ESPN's matchup predictor gives the Bears a 64.7% win projection. Baylor ranks 14th in the KenPom ratings (No. 5 offense/No. 74 defense), while Clemson has moved up nine spots this tournament to No. 25 overall (No. 25 offense/No. 47 defense).