There is a laughable debate going on between bracketologists. Is Clemson an NCAA tournament team?
Joe Lunardi’s comments on ESPN Friday night on why Clemson would be left out of the Big Dance ranged from comical to pure absurdity. Pressed for why Clemson would be left out, Lunardi could only point to the Tiger’s OOC SOS of schedule in the 300s. Certainly, it’s fair to say that limits Clemson’s seeding ceiling, but as a knock out criteria it’s simply ridiculous.
Clemson SOS overall comes in at a reasonable 135 according to https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2023/schedule/Clemson.
That OOC schedule that Lunardi holds against Clemson includes a win over Penn State, a team that’s reached the Big 10 tournament semi-finals and is a lock to make the NCAAs.
If Clemson’s candidacy comes down to a comparison between fellow ACC Bubble teams Pittsburgh and NC State, then Clemson can point to a 4-0 record against the two. This includes 2 wins on the road.
Frankly, Pittsburgh and NC State are NCAA teams as well.
In addition, Clemson is the only ACC team outside of Virginia with a winning Q1 record at 4-3, and they are 7-6 against the Q1/Q2 opponents.
Yes, Clemson has two Q4 losses. That doesn’t look good on the resume, but when your record is 23-10, that’s not the difference between making and missing the field. It simply doesn’t make sense, and it seems a shame that you have to make a case for Clemson’s inclusion when they shouldn’t need one if bracketologists ( * cough * Lunardi ) watched the games.
