Where Clemson basketball lands in ESPN bracketology after 20-4 start

Coach Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers continued their winning ways in ACC play with victories over both Stanford and California on the West Coast in Week 14 of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Clemson (20-4 overall, 10-1 conference), ranked No. 18 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Top 25 poll, defeated Stanford in a gritty 66-64 win at Maples Pavilion behind 16 points and seven rebounds from Nick Davidson. The Tigers then notched a 77-55 blowout win over California at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Saturday.

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RJ Godfrey and Ace Buckner led the Tigers with 13 points apiece in the win at Cal while big men Jake Wahlin and Carter Welling added 11. Clemson led 39-20 at halftime and led by as many as 24 against a Golden Bears team that enters the week on the bubble of the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Speaking of March Madness, Clemson has seven games remaining on its regular-season schedule before the start of the ACC Tournament on March 10 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

With matchups looming at two top 25 teams, No. 6 Duke and No. 13 North Carolina, plus a home game against No. 23 Louisville as part of a five-game stretch that begins Saturday, the Tigers have an opportunity to get a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament than what’s been projected in recent weeks.

With a win over Virginia Tech in midweek play Wednesday, Clemson also has a shot at taking sole possession of first first place when they visit Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke Saturday.

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Here’s where Clemson sits in ESPN’s latest bracketology update.

Where does Clemson basketball land in latest NCAA Tournament, March Madness projections?

In Tuesday’s new bracketology update from longtime ESPN college basketball prognosticator Joe Lunardi, Clemson remained a projected No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament after its 22-point win over California. It’s the same projected seed for the Tigers as the last three weeks.

If the NCAA Tournament were to begin today, Lunardi sees the Tigers taking on projected No. 11 seed Miami (Ohio) in the first round of the West Region in Tampa, Florida.

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If Clemson wins its first-round game, Lunardi sees the Tigers facing the No. 3 seed Florida Gators in the second round of the West Region, barring a first-round Florida upset by 14th-seeded Winthrop.

ACC rival one of ESPN’s projected top four seeds in 2026 NCAA Tournament

The Arizona Wildcats (23-1) are the projected No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona is ranked No. 1 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll. The Wildcats have spent 10 consecutive weeks at No.1 in the AP poll.

With Arizona the projected No. 1 overall seed in the West Region, the Duke Blue Devils (21-2) remain the projected top seed in the East Region while the UConn Huskies (South Region) and Michigan Wolverines (Midwest Region) round out the list of No. 1 seeds.