Clemson basketball had one of the best seasons in school history and how was it rewarded? It earned a 5-seed and a date with red-hot McNeese in the Round of 64.
As we already know, the 5-seed is one of the most cursed in the NCAA Tournament field, getting upset about 35 percent of the time and never winning a national title. On top of that, the Tigers have to face one of the best mid-majors in the country as McNeese went 27-6 this season after a 5-5 start that included losses to South Dakota State, Alabama, Liberty, Santa Clara, and Mississippi State.
A 22-1 finish to the year saw them dominate the Southland Conference, winning the regular-season title by an entire five games and then breeze to the conference tournament title.
The Cowboys had some scares during conference play but they showed that they could win close games and they have just one loss since Dec. 14. That's right, the Cowboys have lost just one single game since the middle of December.
With that being said, let's look at the three things you should know about McNeese.
1. Will Wade is a big name
If you know anything about McNeese, you should know that head coach Will Wade is a name that's bigger than the program he's leading. He was LSU's coach a couple of years ago before he was terminated after being reported to have multiple recruiting violations. He was hired at McNeese before the 2023-24 season and has seen success ever since.
Wade is 49-8 at McNeese over the past two years with just two conference losses and he's going to be talked about as a potential replacement at some major openings this offseason.
This dude flat-out knows how to coach. Not your typical mid-major head coach.
2. One of the nation's top scoring defenses
In recent games, Clemson has had a difficult time scoring the ball, scoring over 75 just once in the past five games, which makes this a little scarier for the Tigers.
McNeese has one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 64 points per game which is good for 16th nationally. And it's not like that's a fluke number either as the Cowboys have faced the likes of Alabama and Mississippi State. They held Alabama to 72 points (actually wildly impressive) and they held Mississippi State to 66. This team can shut it down defensively.
Look for Clemson to try and pound the paint and get easy buckets.
3. McNeese doesn't go away
After starting the year 5-5, it felt like Will Wade and Co. were in trouble and their preseason high hopes were all for naught. But that hasn't been the case since, going 22-1 in the past 23 games, handling their business in the Southland Conference with two titles.
But even during that 5-5 start to the season, McNeese didn't just roll over and let these teams win. They just never went away. The Cowboys don't have a single double-digit loss this season with the largest margin of defeat being eight points at the hands of Alabama.
If Clemson is going to beat McNeese, it'll need to play a complete 40-minute game because the Cowboys aren't going to allow for a runaway win. It just doesn't happen.
Here are their losses:
vs. South Dakota State: 80-73 (7 points)
at No. 2 Alabama: 72-64 (8)
vs. Liberty: 62-58 (4)
vs. Santa Clara: 74-67 (7)
vs. No. 25 Mississippi State: 66-63 (3)
at Nicholls: 71-63 (8)
The Cowboys are going to be pesky.