Clemson draws New Mexico in Big Dance
CLEMSON -- Clemson is set for a return to The Big Dance.
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The Tigers (21-11), representing the Atlantic Coast Conference, will draw New Mexico (26-9) from the Mountain West Conference.
The game, pitting Clemson as a No. 6 seed versus the Lobos as a No. 11 No. seed, is part of the West Regional. The two teams will square off on Friday at 3:10 p.m. ET in Memphis, Tenn.
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"Great day for Clemson basketball," said Clemson head coach Brad Brownell Sunday evening. "I am really happy for my players and proud of them. A reward for a lot of hard work."
Clemson won 11 games in the ACC, but put forth a strong showing out-of-conference.
The Tigers entered the day at No. 35 in RPI rankings and 35th nationally in NET rankings as well.
The selection marks the 14th time in program history Clemson has made the NCAA Tournament and fourth under Brownell whose teams made the tourney in 2011, 2018 and 2021. The selection also represents the seventh all-time for Brownell, who took UNC-Wilmington to the tourney in 2003 and 2006 and Wright State in 2007.
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The Tigers are coming off a 21-point loss to underdog Boston College in last week's ACC Tournament.
"I certainly wish we'd have played better against. BC. I don't really know what happened," said Brownell. "We were ready to play. BC was playing really well and kind of punched us in the mouth. The game got away from us for whatever reason.
"I really got into our guys a little bit, to be honest with you. I was more than disappointed in them. They took responsibility, which they should. I did too after the game."
Clemson has four Sweet 16 appearances all-time and one Elite Eight appearance. The Tigers have advanced to the second round of the tourney on five occasions - 1980, 1989, 1990, 1997 and 2018.
New Mexico has opened as a 1.5-point favorite.
CLEMSON's ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
1980 (Bill Foster)
1987 (Cliff Ellis)
1989 (Ellis)
1990 (Ellis)
1996 (Rick Barnes)
1997 (Barnes)
1998 (Barnes)
2008 (Oliver Purnell)
2009 (Purnell)
2010 (Purnell)
2011 (Brad Brownell)
2018 (Brownell)
2021 (Brownell)
2024 (Brownell)
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