Clemson basketball already has one win under its belt on a week-long trip out west. It came on Wednesday night against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion.
The Tigers (19-4 overall, 9-1 conference) defeated the Cardinal behind 16 points for Nick Davidson, who sank a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to put Clemson ahead for good after trailing by six in the opening minutes of the second half.
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Ace Buckner, who added two late foul shots to stretch the lead to four, finished with 11 points. Fellow freshman Chase Thompson reached double figures for the first time this season by finishing with 10 points.
Clemson has won 12 of its last 13 games. Its only loss in that stretch was an 80-76 overtime loss to Will Wade’s NC State Wolfpack on Jan. 20. RJ Godfrey leads the Tigers in scoring with 11.8 points per game. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ defense has allowed 64.5 points per game on average, good for 12th nationally.
Coach Brad Brownell’s team will close out its West Coast trip with a visit to Berkeley to face the California Golden Bears (17-6, 5-5) Saturday. California is coming off back-to-back wins over Miami and Georgia Tech. The Bears are led in scoring by Dai Dai Ames (17.2 PPG), followed by Justin Pippen (15.0).
Clemson is ranked No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the Associated Press poll; California is unranked.
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Will Clemson improve to 10-1 in conference play Saturday?
Will Clemson avoid upset and beat California? ESPN’s prediction
Ahead of Clemson-California, ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college basketball power index (BPI) and other variables, weighed in with its odds. According to ESPN’s metrics, the Tigers have a 67.4% chance to win and the Golden Bears a 32.6% chance.
ESPN explains its basketball power index and score projections:
The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily.”
ESPN projects Clemson basketball’s odds of winning ACC after 9-1 start
ESPN’s BPI ratings give Clemson an overall final record projection of 24-7, which includes a 14-4 mark in ACC play. The Tigers’ remaining strength of schedule rates 68th nationally.
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Clemson is currently given a 4.8% chance of winning the ACC title, which is up slightly from 4.3% last week.
The Duke Blue Devils lead ESPN’s BPI with a 25.0 rating (12.8 offense, 12.2 defense). Duke has the highest odds of winning the ACC at 98%, according to ESPN’s metrics. Among ACC teams, Clemson is ranked fifth in BPI, one spot behind Virginia and one spot ahead of North Carolina.
Where Clemson basketball lands in ESPN’s latest BPI metrics
Clemson is 27th nationally in ESPN’s latest BPI ratings, down one spot from last week. The Tigers have a 15.6 overall rating. The metrics give the Tigers a 6.2 rating on offense that ranks 50th nationally, and a 9.4 rating on defense that’s 16th-best.
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California is No. 71 overall in BPI with a combined rating of 8.2. The Bears have a 3.4 rating on offense and a 4.7 rating on defense.
Start time, TV channel for Clemson basketball vs California
Tipoff for Clemson-California is 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Haas Pavilion. The game will be televised on ACC Network. Roxy Bernstein and David Padgett are scheduled to have the TV call of the game.
Additionally, the game can be heard on the Clemson Athletic Network with Tigers play-by-play voice Don Munson and Tim Bourret. The Clemson radio call of the game can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 384.
Find your local Clemson radio affiliate below.
|
CITY, STATE |
FREQUENCY |
|
Clemson |
105.5 FM |
|
Camden |
102.7 |
|
Charleston |
98.5 |
|
Columbia |
93.1 |
|
Florence |
97.1 |
|
Greenville |
92.5 |
|
Greenwood |
1450 AM |
|
Hampton |
92.1 |
|
Hilton Head |
96.1 |
|
Hilton Head |
1130 |
|
Myrtle Beach |
100.7 |
|
Myrtle Beach |
105.9 |
|
Newberry |
1240 |
|
Orangeburg |
105.3 |
|
Rock Hill |
100.1 |
|
Rock Hill |
1340 |
|
Spartanburg |
97.5 |
|
Sumter |
94.7 |
|
Union |
103.5 |
|
Union |
1460 |
|
Charlotte, N.C. |
730 |
|
Lincolnton, N.C. |
1050 |
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. 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, 73-68)
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Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
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Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
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Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
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Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
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Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech (W, 77-63)
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Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh (W, 63-52)
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Feb. 4: at Stanford (W, 66-64)
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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. 28: vs. Louisville, ESPN or ESPN2
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March 3: at North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU
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March 7: vs. Georgia Tech, Noon, ACC Network
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball odds of beating California Golden Bears, per ESPN
