Clemson Men’s Basketball Opens Season Hosting Winthrop

The much anticipated 2023-2024 Clemson Men’s Basketball season kicks off tonight in Littlejohn Coliseum as the Tigers host the Winthrop Eagles of the Big South Conference.

Or, as my son says, “It’s Dad’s college vs. Dad’s almost college”, but that’s a story for another day.

The Tigers enter the season with high expectations, both within the program, from fans and from the media.

Is this the make-or-break season for Brad Brownell that seems to get deferred year after year, because they’re “oh, so close”?  The answer to that question begins this evening at 7:00 p.m.

Preseason projections show the Tigers anywhere from 18-12 (12-8 in ACC) to 22-8 (15-5), which could be the difference between being in the Big Dance and once again watching on TV/device.

Clemson opens the season at No. 51 in the KenPom.com rankings and at No. 37 in the Haslametrics.com rankings.

The NET rankings have been a big thorn in Clemson’s side in the last few seasons and to that end the Tigers have beefed up their non-conference schedule, which could see Clemson take a couple more losses, but have a better non-conference strength of schedule.

The NET is often criticized, sometimes rightly in my mind, but it’s a tool the committee uses, so it can’t be ignored.

My biggest takeaway from the NET ranking formula? Road wins are good and home losses are bad, so keep that in mind as the Tigers wind their way through a 30 game regular season.

One thing for sure, though, is the Tigers can’t have the bad losses they suffered last season and hope to make the NCAA Tournament.

Former Tiger Terrence Oglesby, now a standout analyst, is bullish on the Tigers’ chances of making the field of 68.

Winthrop is coming off a 15-17 season that saw the Eagles exit in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament and opens the season at No. 161 in the KenPom.com rankings, meaning this is the game the Tigers should win convincingly and to that end Clemson is a 14.5 point favorite.

It’s tempting to lay the points with Clemson in the home opener vs. a Big South team.  I would caution that the Eagles are more than capable of keeping this around 10-12 points and have some three point shooters of their own.

For me, there’s too many unknowns in the season opener (and Clemson basketball history) and I would stay away, but if I had to pick a side, I’d take Winthrop +14.5.

That seems in direct conflict with the projected score above, but the score is skewed by one outlier heavily in the Tigers favor.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is led  by Preseason All-ACC selection P.J. Hall

Hall led the Tigers with 15.3 points per game and added 5.7 rebounds while shooting 79 percent from the line.

Rehabbing from an injury in the early season, Hall’s numbers picked up when ACC play began and he averaged 17.6 points (led team) and 6.6 rebounds in conference play, while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and  83.3 percent at the foul line.

While the Tigers will certainly miss Hunter Tyson, Hall will have plenty of help from a deep an experienced team, including Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Alex Hemenway, R.J. Godfrey, Chauncey Wiggins and a couple of solid transfers in Jack Clark (N.C. State) and Joe Girard (Syracuse).

The club’s roster shows only one freshman, 6’7 Asa Thomas from Lake Forest, Illinois.

Clemson was picked to finish 5th in the ACC.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change