CLEMSON -- The Clemson Tigers (16-7) are back in the NCAA Tournament.
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The Tigers will begin tournament play on Friday as a No. 7 seed, drawing a matchup with Big Ten member Rutgers (15-11). The Scarlet Knights will enter the tourney as a #10 seed. The two teams will square off in the Midwest Region. The winner will take on the winner of a matchup between (2) Houston and (15) Cleveland State.
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The appearance in this year's tournament marks the 13th appearance in the Big Dance in program history for the Tigers and third for Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, who guided the Tigers to a tourney appearance in 2010-11 and 2017-18. Clemson made the Sweet 16 in their last tourney appearance.
The Tigers are 2-1 all-time against Rutgers with the last matchup coming in the 2015-16 season, a 76-58 victory in Las Vegas, Nev.
Clemson enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 41 in the NET, No. 21 in RPI, 24 in strength of schedule. Its three Quad 1 wins rank second tied for second in the ACC. The Tigers are 10-6 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and rank first in Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins.
The Tigers have four non-conference wins over Power 5 teams, the only ACC team that can make that claim. In average NET ranking of wins, the Tigers are tied for 10th with a score of 92. They are 3-0 against teams listed in the top 12 (Alabama, Purdue and Maryland).
All games in the 2021 Tournament are being held in the Indianapolis area.
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