Final NCAA projections for Clemson basketball before Selection Sunday
Selection Sunday is here.
The Clemson men’s basketball team (24-10) is considered a lock for the NCAA Tournament and improved its résumé with a surprise run to the ACC Tournament semifinals in Charlotte, which included a Quadrant 1 win over UNC.
Ahead of the men’s bracket reveal (6 p.m., CBS), here’s a quick look at the latest bracketology for the Tigers and coach Brad Brownell.
Clemson’s average NCAA seed as of Sunday a No. 8 seed, per bracketmatrix.com, but they are the highest of four teams on the No. 8 seed line, indicating they could move up to a No. 7 seed. That’s notable because the Tigers’ potential second-round game would be against a No. 2 instead of No. 1 seed.
Latest Clemson NCAA tournament projections
As of March 15, 10 a.m.
ESPN: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 Villanova in Tampa, Fla. (South Region)
CBS: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 TCU (West Region)*
The Athletic: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 Iowa in Tampa, Fla. (South Region)
On3 Sports: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 Iowa in Tampa, Fla. (South Region)
USA Today Sports: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 Ohio State in San Diego, Calif. (West Region)
Field of 68: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 St. Louis (Midwest Region)*
Hoops HQ: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 Missouri in Philadelphia (South Region)
Patrick Stevens: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 Texas A&M in St. Louis, Mo. (East Region)
Bleacher Report: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 UCF (West Region)*
Fox Sports: No 8 seed vs. No. 9 St. Louis (South Region)*
*Projection does not include a specific location for Round of 64/32 games
Latest Clemson NCAA location projections
Among 10 national projections tracked by The State, Clemson’s most frequent site for opening games was Tampa, Florida (three times) followed by three other sites one time each (Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis).
In terms of overall regional, Clemson appeared five times in the South Regional in Houston and three times in the West Regional in San Jose, Calif. Regional sites host second weekend Sweet 16/Elite Eight games.
Clemson had one projection for the East Regional in Washington, D.C., but that’s not as popular of a pick for the Tigers considering the likely No. 1 seed in that region will be Duke, a fellow ACC conference member Clemson’s already played twice.
How to watch 2026 NCAA men’s selection show
- What: 2026 NCAA men’s tournament bracket reveal
- When: 6 p.m. Sunday
- TV: CBS
- Stream: via cbs.com
This story was originally published March 15, 2026 at 6:24 AM.
