Brad Brownell makes Clemson's case to make NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday

It’s a toss up regarding Clemson‘s status for the NCAA Tournament. They’re right on the edge of making the tournament and being left out. Tigers head caoch Brad Brownell made his pitch to the selection committee live on ESPN a few hours ahead of the selection show.

“Eye test — just our team playing right now — I mean, Hunter Thompson and PJ Hall are voted as two of the top 12 or 13 players in the ACC. We have the second-best defense, the fifth-best offense. We won 14 ACC games,” Brownell said. “I just think that if you watch our team play and have seen us throughout the year, we have been one of the top teams in the country to be in this tournament.

“We were 7-6 against Quad 1’s and 2’s. That’s not as many as some other leagues, maybe high-major, but at 7-6, very few people have a winning record in their Quad 1 and 2 games. … Most of those wins are away from home — we have three Quad 1 road wins.

Not only that, but Clemson also has had success against other teams in the bubble as well. Those teams include Penn State, Pitt and NC State. The only ACC teams Clemson failed to defeat on the bubble is North Carolina.

Overall, the Tigers are ranked No. 60 in the NET with a 4-4 record against Quad 1 opponents. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi ranks them on the ‘First Four Out’ line — meaning they’ll be holding their breath for the entirity of Selection Sunday. Lunardi said on Saturday choosing Clemson’s fate might be the hardest decision the committee has faced on the bubble in years.

Clemson has played well down the stretch, finished with a good ACC record and several quality wins in conference play. That still leaves the Tigers on thin ice, but their resume may be just enough to skate by.