Where is Clemson going for the NCAA Tournament? Here are the final projections
Selection Sunday is here. Where will Clemson basketball play?
The Tigers head into March Madness with a 27-6 record and No. 22 NET ranking after losing to Louisville in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Friday in Charlotte.
The team’s 27 wins are a single-season school record, and Clemson has a 5-3 record in Quad 1 games, a 13-5 record in Quad 1 and 2 games and the nation’s No. 15 strength of record and No. 59 strength of schedule, per ESPN.
But the Tigers’ loss appears to have dropped them off the top 4 seed line.
Clemson is now generally regarded as a No. 5 seed and has an average seeding of 4.91 across 102 projections tracked by the website bracketmatrix.com. The Tigers were a No. 6 seed last year and haven’t been a top 4 seed since the 1996-97 season.
Here’s the latest on tournament projections for coach Brad Brownell and the Tigers as of Sunday morning, before tonight’s NCAA men’s selection show (6 p.m., CBS).
Clemson NCAA Tournament projections
- ESPN: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Colorado State in Denver
- CBS Sports: No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 VCU in Providence, RI
- Washington Post: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Colorado State in Seattle
- The Athletic: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Colorado State in Seattle
- USA TODAY: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese State in Seattle
- Field of 68: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Xavier or Indiana*
- Bleacher Report: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Liberty*
- FOX Sports: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 UC San Diego*
*no opening weekend game site included in projection
Who will Clemson play in second round?
The Tigers will almost certainly be favored in their first-round game. If Clemson wins its opening game, bracketologists offer these possible round of 32 opponents:
- ESPN: No. 4 Arizona or No. 13 High Point
- CBS Sports: No. 3 Michigan or No. 14 Robert Morris
- Washington Post: No. 4 Michigan or No. 13 High Point
- The Athletic: No. 4 Maryland or No. 13 High Point
- USA TODAY: No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 Yale
- Field of 68: No. 4 Maryland or No. 13 Akron
- Bleacher Report: No. 4 Michigan or No. 13 High Point
- FOX Sports: No. 4 Maryland or No. 13 Liberty
Where will Clemson play?
Three of five bracket projections that include locations have Clemson playing its opening NCAA Tournament game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
There’s one prediction for Denver and one for Providence, Rhode Island.
The five other possible men’s first/second-round game sites are: Milwaukee; Cleveland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; and Wichita, Kansas.
For potential second weekend games, Clemson was predicted to land in the Midwest Regional (Indianapolis) four times in the eight projections above, the South Regional (Atlanta) three times and the East Regional (Newark, New Jersey) once.
That’s a change from earlier in the week, when Clemson was primarily projected to play in the South Regional (Atlanta). The Tigers have no predictions to land in the West Regional (San Francisco) as of Sunday.
The 2025 Final Four is April 5-7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 10:01 AM.
