Clemson Tigers Basketball Boss Suggests Scheduling Tweak to Boost NCAA Hopes

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, the Clemson Tigers appear to be a lock.

Considered no worse than a No. 6 seed, the Tigers (22-5, 14-2 ACC) are tied for second place in the ACC, ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and are preparing for their next game against Notre Dame on Wednesday.

But, if one were to look at ESPN’s Bracketology, the Tigers are one of just four teams in the tournament field.

So, what gives? This is the ACC after all. The conference of Tobacco Road, Duke and North Carolina. The conference that put college basketball on the map.

Plus, the other power conferences are far ahead of the ACC. The SEC, which is having an incredible year by any metric, has 12 bids. The Big Ten has 10. The Big 12, which has been the most dominant conference of the past half-decade by most metrics, has eight.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell has noticed the disparity. He noticed it last year, too, when he pointed out that some conferences were not scheduling as tough in non-conference.

In talking to media on Monday, including the Post and Courier, he admitted that the conference has not helped itself with its non-conference record this year. North Carolina, usually a tournament team, is down this year and is sitting right on the bubble for the 68-team field.

He also said that some teams started slowly and have gotten better as the year has gone on, but the brackets aren’t catching up, calling that a “problem.”

He also said that he’s advocated for something that Duke did this weekend — non-conference games in January and February.

Duke scheduled a non-conference game with Illinois at Madison Square Garden and blew out the Fighting Illini. The game should help Duke analytically, as it is another Quad 1 win for the NCAA Tournament committee to review when it comes time to determine the bracket.

Most teams focus entirely on conference when January comes around. There have been rare exceptions. The Big 12 and the SEC used to play a crossover weekend in January for several years. That has been replaced by the ACC-SEC Challenge, which is played in January.

There used to be significant non-conference games in January and February before conferences got larger and eliminated the opportunity. But the chance to play a strategically placed game like the Duke-Illinois game could help bolster a team’s NET rating and improve their case with the committee.

It’s food for thought for next year.