For the first time since 2008-2011, Clemson basketball is headed to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons and the Tigers earned themselves a 5-seed in the Midwest Region, facing off against No. 12 seed McNeese.
Will Wade will get an opportunity to improve his coaching resume by beating a really good Clemson team, but Brad Brownell and Co. will have something to say about that.
A year ago, the Tigers made their second Elite Eight ever and their first in 44 years, losing to Alabama and missing out on the first Final Four in program history. For a historical football school, it's not as crazy as it seems that the Tigers have never made a Final Four -- Alabama made its first Final Four a year ago. Clemson has a good enough team to get back this year.
This is also just the 15th time in school history that Clemson has made the NCAA Tournament and Brownell has been the head coach for five of them.
And believe it or not, Clemson has been a 5-seed multiple times prior.
How has Clemson basketball fared all-time as a 5-seed?
In the 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament, Clemson has earned the 5-seed three times before with the 2025 bid being the fourth such occurrence. What's happened the last three times?
1990: Lost in the Sweet 16 to UConn
2008: Lost in the First Round to Villanova
2018: Lost in the Sweet 16 to Kansas
2025: TBD
In two out of three appearances as a 5-seed, Clemson has made it to the Sweet 16. In each one of these games, the Tigers were bounced by what could be considered blue-blood programs.
If that trend continues, it would have to play Kentucky or UCLA in the Elite Eight (I don't consider Houston, Purdue, or Gonzaga blue bloods), or Duke in the Final Four.
Either way, it looks like a Sweet 16 berth is likely when Clemson earns a 5-seed -- they made the Sweet 16 under Brownell the only other time he got a 5-seed.