The ACC/SEC Challenge lives on in 2025 and the matchups for this year's version of the inter-conference event were revealed on Thursday, and guess what? Clemson basketball may have gotten the toughest draw of any of the ACC teams.
While the SEC is loaded with top teams like Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Auburn, and Arkansas, there's one team that I think could compete for a national title in 2025-26 that I think is getting far too overlooked.
That team happens to be Clemson's opponent in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Back to Tuscaloosa
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) June 12, 2025
READ: https://t.co/ISaQs5J0Mt pic.twitter.com/t2zDmzkPpL
That's right, Clemson is headed to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama who is returning plenty of talent this year and is also bringing in a solid recruiting class. Nate Oats is one of the best coaches in the country and Coleman Coliseum is going to be rocking.
This past season, Clemson hosted Kentucky for the annual ACC/SEC Challenge and it turned into a classic as the Tigers held on for a 70-66 win over one of the nation's top teams.
This time around, Brad Brownell and his team chocked full of transfers are going to have to win on the road in Tuscaloosa if they want to make it three huge wins in a row in the challenge (two years ago it was South Carolina who fell victim to the Tigers).
Some experts have ranked the matchups in this year's challenge, including CBS Sports, but the amount of disrespect this duel is getting is insane. CBS ranked the Alabama vs. Clemson showdown the No. 8 matchup out of all 16 and that's behind the likes of NC State vs. Auburn and SMU vs. Vanderbilt which I think is wildly disrespectful.
It looks like Clemson is going to have to earn respect once again.