3. Clemson Tigers
2022-23 season record: 23-11 (14-6)
There wasn’t a more consequential loss last season in College Basketball than Clemson’s shocking loss to Louisville, as that single-handily kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. It wasted an all-league senior campaign from forward Hunter Tyson, who led the team in scoring and rebounding. He’s gone, along with double-digit scoring guard, Brevin Galloway, among others.
Who the team does have back is PJ Hall, the big man that averaged 15.3 ppg and 5.7 rpg while shooting 40% from three-point range. Joining him in the frontcourt is NC State combo forward Jack Clark, along with Bas Leyte, a center transfer from UNC-Greensboro that’ll backup Hall.
On the perimeter, Chase Hunter (13.8 ppg and 4.5 apg) is back as the lead guard, along with Alex Hemenway, who shot 47% from three-point range. Joining them is Joe Girard, who averaged 16.4 ppg at Syracuse, along with Jake Heidbreder, a 6’5 guard from Air Force coming off a 15.1 ppg season on 40% shooting from deep. Plus, there’s a group of young players such as RJ Godfrey and Dillon Hunter that could be breakout sophomore candidates.
There’s a ton of shooting on this Tigers’ roster and the offensive potential next season is through the roof. While there are some defensive concerns, Clemson is more than capable of just winning a bunch of shootouts and getting the wins needed to make the Big Dance in 2024.