Despite losing their first conference game of the year in ACC play, the Clemson Tigers are on the move again in ESPN’s new college basketball power rankings.
Clemson (16-4 overall, 6-1 ACC) suffered its first loss in league play, 80-76, in overtime to coach Will Wade and NC State at Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday. RJ Godfrey led the Tigers with 16 points, and Carter Welling added 14 to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Ace Buckner scored 12 for Clemson off the bench.
Advertisement
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 18 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll, also moved up two spots in ESPN’s power rankings this week.
College basketball analyst Jeff Borzello ranked Clemson at No. 21, one spot below Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team and one spot ahead of the Tigers’ ACC rival Louisville Cardinals. The Tigers are two spots ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels in ESPN’s power rankings.
Borzello said of Clemson’s loss to NC State:
“It was a difficult night for the ACC’s most efficient defense. The Tigers allowed 1.12 points per possession, the most an opponent has scored against them since Alabama back on Dec. 3. NC State also turned the ball over just seven times in 45 minutes, the lowest turnover percentage anyone has had against Clemson all season.”
Clemson’s defense has still been nothing short of elite this season. The Tigers have allowed an average of 65.8 points in their first 20 games, the 18th fewest points allowed in the nation. Only the ACC-leading Duke Blue Devils (65.1) have surrendered less.
Advertisement
The Tigers also have a reasonably good chance to get back in the win column when it faces Georgia Tech (11-8, 2-4) Saturday in Atlanta. Tipoff for the Clemson-Georgia Tech is Noon ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
Clemson is one of five ACC teams that cracked ESPN’s power rankings. Besides Louisville and North Carolina, Duke led the way at No. 4 overall and Virginia was No. 16.
Clemson basketball schedule 2026
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ full 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule.
All start times Eastern.
-
Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
-
Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
-
Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
-
Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
-
Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
-
Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
-
Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
-
Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
-
Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
-
Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
-
Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
-
Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
-
Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
-
Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-680)
-
Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
-
Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
-
Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
-
Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
-
Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech, Noon, The CW
-
Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh, Noon, ACC Network
-
Feb. 4: at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
-
Feb. 7: at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
-
Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
-
Feb. 14: at Duke, Noon, ESPN
-
Feb. 18: at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
-
Feb. 28: vs. Louisville, TBD
-
March 7: vs. Georgia Tech, Noon, ACC Network
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball rises in ESPN power rankings despite ACC loss
