The Clemson Tigers are one of the hottest teams in the nation as they head into their weekend showdown with the Miami Hurricanes.
Clemson (15-3 overall, 5-0 conference), which debuted in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll this week at No. 21 and No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll, also cracked ESPN’s men’s basketball power rankings for the first time this season.
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College hoops insider Jeff Borzello placed coach Brad Brownell’s Tigers at No. 23 in his rankings, one spot below Utah State (15-1) and one spot ahead of college basketball blue blood Villanova (14-3).
Borzello said of Clemson:
“Clemson has quietly won eight in a row and is off to a 5-0 start in ACC play after losing back-to-back close games to Alabama and BYU in early December. The Tigers have a real chance to stake a claim in the ACC standings over the next week, with home games against Miami and NC State. Win both, and suddenly Brad Brownell’s team is likely favored in its next five games before heading to Duke on Valentine’s Day. The Tigers currently have the best defense in the ACC, holding teams to 0.94 points per possession in conference play.”
Clemson’s defense has surrendered an average of 64.8 points per game, the 15th fewest points in the nation and the fewest in the ACC. The Tigers are coming off a 74-50 blowout win over Boston College on Tuesday night, a game in which they held leading scorer Donald Hand Jr. scoreless in 31 minutes.
Tipoff for Clemson vs. Miami is 2:15 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will be televised on The CW.
Clemson basketball schedule 2026
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ full 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule.
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All start times Eastern.
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Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
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Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
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Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
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Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
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Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
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Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
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Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
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Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
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Dec. 3: at Alabama (L, 90-84)
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Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
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Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
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Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
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Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
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Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
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Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-680)
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Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
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Jan. 10: at Notre Dame (W, 76-61)
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Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
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Jan. 17: vs. Miami, 2:15 p.m., The CW
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Jan. 20: vs. NC State, 7 p.m., The CW
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Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech, noon, The CW
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Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh, noon, ACC Network
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Feb. 4: at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 7: at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 14: at Duke, noon, ESPN
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Feb. 18: at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 21: Florida State, noon, TBD
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Feb. 28: vs. Louisville, TBD
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March 3: at North Carolina, 7 p.m., TBD
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March 7: vs. Georgia Tech, noon, ACC Network
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson makes ESPN power rankings for first time in 2026
