CLEMSON ROBBED OF NCAA BID BY DISGRACEFUL SELECTION COMMITTEE

2023-03-20 15:29:35
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By Trevor Groves

CLEMSON, S.C. - Good grief, the Tigers are hosed once again by the idiotic Selection Committee. Absolutely ridiculous! Clemson is the first-ever 3rd place ACC team go be denied the tournament. The Tigers were 6-0 against Duke, Pitt, Penn State and NC State, including 3 blowout wins over State by 65 points combined. And yet NC State somehow made the tournament, illustrating that the actual games and who wins head to head are no longer important. All the computer stats and quad ratings, which were only designed to use as a tool for comparing teams that DO NOT play each other, have made the committee completely ignore what should matter by far more than anything else--WHO WINS HEAD TO HEAD. If the NBA used this system, a team could sweep the NBA finals, and the LOSER would be declared NBA champion if the winner had worse regular season losses! That is exactly what this committee has done with Clemson and NC State. It's absolutely absurd.

All of the aforementioned teams made the tourney, Duke won the ACC Tournament, and Penn State barely lost in Big Ten Championship. Clemson was 6-0 against them. Yes, Tigers had a few bad losses, but every team that made the field has bad losses. Kentucky, for example, lost at home to the Gamecocks and much later in the season than when the Tigers lost to them on the road without PJ Hall. Those few bad losses do not outweigh being 6-0 versus the aforementioned teams and finishing 3rd in the ACC! Completely disgraceful. It's not the first time Brownell has been robbed of an NCAA bid, either. The Tigers were ranked 35th by this same stupid, illogical quad system a couple years ago and were still left out. As Brownell prophetically said over a month ago, if they don't want you in the tournament, they will find an excuse to keep you out. They sure did! Excuses that they only apply to Clemson and not other teams that received preferential treatment.

The Tigers will be a No.1 seed in the NIT and will host Morehead State on Wednesday. As a No.1 seed, the Tigers will host until the Semifinals in Vegas. Michigan and Vandy are also in the Tigers' quad. Other notable teams in the field are Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, VA Tech, Florida, Oregon, Cincy and Rutgers. UNC declined its invite, which makes them look really stupid in my opinion. I don't know if it's whiny, snobby or embarrassment, but it's a bad look and does nothing to get back at the NCAA. Nobody's happy about the NIT, but the Tigers will get to host a few more games, the freshmen will get better and the seniors will get to compete a little longer and maybe win a title in Vegas!

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University men’s basketball earned an at-large bid as a No. 1 seed into the 2023 National Invitation Tournament and will face Morehead State in Littlejohn Coliseum for the first round. The game will be played on Wednesday, March 15 at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN+.

This will be Clemson’s 18th appearance in the NIT and the Tigers hold a 19-17 overall record in the event. Clemson has made the NIT Final Four three times, including the championship game twice.

General admission tickets are $15 and Clemson students get in for FREE with a valid ID. All tickets are on sale now at ClemsonTigers.com or by calling 1-800-CLEMSON during business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Clemson enters the NIT with a 23-10 record, including a record-breaking 14 wins in the ACC (14-6) during the regular season. The 14 victories were the most in program history, while the win percentage is third best.

Hunter Tyson (Monroe, N.C./Piedmont) and PJ Hall (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) earned All-ACC postseason accolades when the regular season concluded. Tyson was named to the All-ACC First Team and Hall was named to the Third Team. Tyson also earned the prestigious ACC Skip Prosser Scholar Athlete Award – the second Tiger to receive it over the last three seasons (Aamir Simms, 2021).

The Tigers are led in scoring (15.5) and rebounding (9.5) by Tyson. He has 16 double-doubles this season – tied for fifth all-time for a single season in program history. He set career highs in points (31) and rebounds (15) in a win over NC State, while also twice earning ACC Player of the Week honors

Tyson became the 44th player in Clemson history to amass 1,000 career points. He was named to the 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame Karl Malone Award Top 10 and the 2023 USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Award Midseason Watch List

The Monroe, N.C. native became just the 17th player in Clemson history to eclipse 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career. In Clemson’s win over the Wolfpack (Feb. 25), Tyson became the all-time games played leader in Clemson history (136) and now has totaled 139.

Hall is the team’s second-leading scorer (15.4) and second-leading rebounder (5.6) this season. In ACC play he leads the team in scoring (17.6) and is second in rebounds (6.6). Hall is shooting 54.0 percent from the floor in league games, including 38.6 from three and 83.3 at the line.

He has totaled four double-doubles this season.

In the last 10 games, Hall has averaged a team-best 18.3 points per game, including 6.0 rebounds per contest – second to Tyson. Hall is shooting 59.1 percent from the floor, 48.3 percent from three and 79.2 percent at the foul line.

He has totaled 24 double-digit scoring games, including 10 20-point games. With his 15 points against Notre Dame, Hall secured 1,000 points for his career – joining teammates Tyson and Brevin Galloway (Anderson, S.C./Seneca) to do so this season.

Clemson’s backcourt has been more than stellar this season with the play from Galloway and lead guard Chase Hunter (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake). Hunter has seen career highs in points (13.6), rebounds (3.0) and assists (4.6) this season – proving to be one of the most improved players in the ACC

Playing his final year of collegiate basketball for his hometown team, Galloway has added 11.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. He shot it well from three this year, including 93.2 percent at the foul line in ACC play

The Tigers have been ultra-impressive from the free throw line this season. As a team, Clemson is first in the league and sixth in the country. Its mark of 79.0 percent is currently first in program history. Six other Brad Brownell teams are listed in the top 10.

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