Clemson Tigers Receives High NCAA Tournament Seeding Entering March Madness

The disappointment of Friday night’s loss to the Louisville Cardinals gave way to the Madness of March as the Clemson Tigers learned their seeding for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

The Tigers are two days removed from a bitter defeat at the hands of the Cardinals, 76-73, in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Clemson rallied in the final minutes from a double-digit deficit to nearly send the game into overtime or even win it.

Now, Clemson (27-6), ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and No. 22 in NCAA NET, will move on to the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday the Tigers learned they will be the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region and will face No. 12 seed McNeese State in the first round on Thursday in Providence, R.I.

The game time and TV designation will be set later on Sunday.

The Tigers hope to, at minimum, duplicate what they did last year under coach Brad Brownell. That team made it to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history before falling to the Alabama Crimson Tide one game short of the Final Four.

That team has something in common with this one — both lost in the ACC Tournament. Last year the Tigers lost to the Boston College Eagles in the second round before securing a No. 6 seed and going on their run.

This time, the Tigers will have to go on a run without one of their key players. Dillon Hunter, who was averaging 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken hand in the Tigers’ ACC quarterfinal victory. His number belie his importance to the Tigers, as he plays more than 20 minutes per game.

It also means he won’t get to play with his brother, Chase, again as Tigers. Chase Hunter, who averages 16.4 points and leads the Tigers in scoring, is in his final season of college basketball. He’s wrapping up his sixth year in the collegiate ranks.

Clemson enters the tournament healthy otherwise and with three other players that are averaging more than 10 points per game. Forward Ian Schieffelin was a significant piece of last year’s run and averages 12.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, the latter of which leads the team.

Center Viktor Lahkin, who transferred to the Tigers this season, averages 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Guard Jaeden Zackery logs more than 35 minutes per game and averages 11.3 points. He also leads the team with 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game.