Clemson ticket punched, bracket path set

Clemson’s headed to the Big Dance for the first time since 2018.

The Tigers received an at-large bid as the NCAA Selection Committee unveiled its 68-team bracket on Sunday night. It’s the 13th appearance in program history and the third time under Brad Brownell.

Clemson (16-7) is the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region and will play No. 10 Rutgers on Friday. With a win, the Tigers would face the winner of No. 2 Houston and No. 15 Cleveland State.

Indianapolis will host every game of the tournament. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the NCAA to make adjustments to travel schedules for teams, electing not to send them around the country for games throughout the tournament.

“Our resume showed this is about where we should be,” Brownell said on a Sunday night Zoom call. “I think that’s what the committee saw as well. We’re happy with it, excited to play a very good Rutgers team.”

The berth in this year’s NCAA Tournament comes after COVID-riddled season for Clemson. The Tigers endured two COVID-19 pauses and finished 10-6 in ACC play, winning three of their last four games before the ACC Tournament. But Clemson fell in their first game of the conference tournament, a 67-64 loss to Miami in the second round.

The Tigers full-court man-to-man defense had them ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll, but they struggled to find their game after their first COVID-19 pause, losing three-straight games in mid-January.

After averaging 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season, Aamir Simms was named to the All-ACC second team last week. He’s the 2021 recipient of the Skip Prosser Award, too, given to the top scholar-athlete in ACC men’s basketball.

Getting the at-large bid is still an accomplishment for a program that finished 16-15 overall and 9-11 in the ACC a year ago.

“It is going to be different, it’s going to be strange,” Brownell said. “We fly in to Indianapolis and then you basically just go sit in a hotel room for 24 hours, wait to take two tests and test negative twice before you can almost come out of your room. It’s not going to be the same.

“Today was great. Just to hear your name called, and for us to sit there together and really reflect on what we’ve accomplished so far, especially during the regular season — it’s very rewarding.”

The last time Clemson went to the tournament was in 2018, when the Tigers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. Clemson defeated No. 12 New Mexico State and No. 4 Auburn before falling to No. 1 Kansas, 80-76.

The Tigers have never advanced to the Final Four; the last time they made the Elite Eight was 1980.

“We don’t just wanna go to the tournament. We wanna win the tournament,” Clyde Trapp said.

ClemsonSports.com will continue to update this story as more information becomes available ahead of the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament game.