Going into the postseason with no stress and no distractions has to be a thing of beauty, but Clemson is missing half of that.
While the Tigers won't have a ton of Selection Sunday stress as the only thing they'll have to worry about is what 13 or 14 seed they'll have to face in round one, they have had a bit of a distraction when it comes to the head coach. Brad Brownell has been the subject of some Indiana rumors that have popped up in recent days and with the Hoosiers squarely on the bubble, he'll have to really answer questions about that opening sooner than later.
But first, he's worried about the task at hand which is trying to lead the Tigers to their first conference tournament title in nearly 100 years -- no, that's not a typo.
The first matchup in the ACC Tournament for Clemson after a double-bye will be against SMU. The Mustangs have had a nice season but they're likely to be left out of the NCAA Tournament.
This should be an easy win for Clemson, right? Wrong.
Vegas doesn't quite see this as a blowout even though the line has gone in Clemson's direction since it opened. Here's what DraftKings has to say about Thursday night's Clemson vs. SMU matchup:
Line: Clemson -7.5
Over/Under: 142.5
Moneyline: Clemson -310 | SMU +250
It's clear that Clemson is a comfortable favorite and SMU is a better team than its NCAA Tournament outlook claims so I expect this one to be a battle from start to finish.
In the end, though, Clemson will be just too much for SMU, knocking down threes like the Tigers did in the first matchup and doing work on the glass, unlike the first matchup. Clemson wins and covers, 78-70.