Clemson basketball faced its toughest test of the 2025-26 schedule, and came within striking distance of a victory.
The Tigers fell in a 90-84 loss to the 12th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but the loss was not without its promise. For starters, Clemson (7-2) erased a 19-point deficit to claw ahead of Nate Oats’ high-scoring team in the game’s final eight minutes.
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A 9-1 Alabama run gave the Tide the win in front of their home crowd.
How Clemson responds to the loss to Alabama will be interesting because they don’t have another ranked opponent or chance at a Quad 1 victory on their nonconference schedule.
The Tigers travel to Madison Square Garden in New York for the Jimmy V Classic and a matchup against the 10th-ranked BYU Cougars Tuesday. In the meantime, there’s a new No. 1 across college basketball.
Is Clemson ranked in Week 6 USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll?
Clemson is unranked in the Week 6 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but the Tigers received seven votes for top 25 consideration.
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Led by Duke at No. 3, the ACC has four teams ranked in the top 25. Louisville slipped five spots to No. 11 after its first loss of the season. North Carolina rose two spots to No. 15 in the poll after its win against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, and No. 25 Virginia entered the rankings for the first time the season after improving to 8-1.
New No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll
Yaxel Lendeborg of Michigan reacts after dunking against Gonzaga in the championship game of the Players Era Championship basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The Wolverines are No. 1 in this week’s Coaches Poll. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
The full Week 6 top 25 rankings in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll are below.
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
PTS |
1st |
Prev |
Chg |
Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michigan |
8-0 |
755 |
17 |
2 |
+1 |
1/7 |
|
2 |
Arizona |
8-0 |
742 |
11 |
3 |
+1 |
2/13 |
|
3 |
Duke |
10-0 |
723 |
2 |
4 |
+1 |
3/5 |
|
4 |
Iowa State |
9-0 |
651 |
1 |
9 |
+5 |
4/18 |
|
5 |
UConn |
8-1 |
628 |
0 |
5 |
– |
3/7 |
|
6 |
Purdue |
8-1 |
617 |
0 |
1 |
-5 |
1/6 |
|
7 |
Gonzaga |
9-1 |
565 |
0 |
11 |
+4 |
7/20 |
|
8 |
Houston |
8-1 |
547 |
0 |
7 |
-1 |
2/8 |
|
9 |
Michigan State |
8-1 |
517 |
0 |
8 |
-1 |
8/21 |
|
10 |
BYU |
7-1 |
507 |
0 |
10 |
– |
7/11 |
|
11 |
Louisville |
8-1 |
456 |
0 |
6 |
-5 |
5/12 |
|
12 |
Alabama |
7-2 |
436 |
0 |
12 |
– |
9/16 |
|
13 |
Illinois |
7-2 |
371 |
0 |
15 |
+2 |
8/15 |
|
14 |
Vanderbilt |
9-0 |
365 |
0 |
16 |
+2 |
14/NR |
|
15 |
North Carolina |
8-1 |
341 |
0 |
17 |
+2 |
15/25 |
|
16 |
Texas Tech |
7-2 |
277 |
0 |
19 |
+3 |
11/20 |
|
17 |
Arkansas |
7-2 |
245 |
0 |
23 |
+6 |
15/23 |
|
18 |
Florida |
5-3 |
213 |
0 |
14 |
-4 |
3/18 |
|
19 |
Kansas |
7-3 |
208 |
0 |
21 |
+2 |
19/NR |
|
20 |
Tennessee |
7-3 |
170 |
0 |
13 |
-7 |
13/20 |
|
21 |
St. John’s |
5-3 |
138 |
0 |
22 |
+1 |
6/22 |
|
22 |
Nebraska |
9-0 |
114 |
0 |
NR |
+6 |
22/NR |
|
23 |
Iowa |
8-1 |
77 |
0 |
25 |
+2 |
23/NR |
|
24 |
Auburn |
7-3 |
76 |
0 |
24 |
– |
22/NR |
|
25 |
Virginia |
8-1 |
67 |
0 |
NR |
+8 |
25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 18 Kentucky; No. 19 Indiana;
Others Receiving Votes
Saint Mary’s 52; UCLA 35; Oklahoma State 33; Wisconsin 32; USC 20; Seton Hall 16; Indiana 16; Kentucky 14; SMU 11; Missouri 7; Clemson 7; Ohio State 6; Georgia 5; Miami (FL) 4; LSU 4; Utah State 3; Yale 2; California 1; Baylor 1;
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Clemson basketball schedule 2025-26
Clemson visits Madison Square Garden in New York to face BYU Tuesday. Tipoff for Clemson-BYU is 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball on outside looking in of USAT Coaches Poll
