ACC Basketball: 10 storylines/questions heading into 2024-25

8) Can Clemson prove last year's run to the Elite Eight was no fluke?

The Tigers made last year's season one for the history books, making an Elite Eight appearance for just the second time in school history in 2023-24. Head coach Brad Brownell was methodical in riding Joe Girard and PJ Hall to another impressive season. They finished 24-12, leaving no doubt as to whether they belonged in the tournament with their run as a No. 6-seed.

Clemson finished 11-9 in the ACC, and even though they were tied for fifth place in the standings with Syracuse and Wake Forest and had one loss short of Pittsburgh, who was fourth, they were ultimately given an at-large bid. They proved fitting of their seeding as they upset No. 3 Baylor and No. 2 Arizona before falling 89-82 to No. 4 Alabama. With four players returning and a wave of transfers to get acclimated, can the Tigers do it all again in 2024-25?

Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Chauncey Wiggins, and Dillon Hunter are all back, and they've added Jaeden Zackery (Boston College), Viktor Lakhin (Cincinnati), Christian Reeves (Duke) out of the transfer portal, and Jake Heidbreder (Air Force), who redshirted the 2022-23 season.

That's a solid rotation of eight players for Coach Brownell to work with, but is it enough? Given their penchant for playing on both ends of the floor, Clemson will have a few early opportunities to prove they can sustain themselves as a 20+ win team.

They've got Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and they'll host Memphis at Littlejohn Coliseum and face South Carolina on the road in Columbia. Their non-conference schedule isn't the strongest. Another fifth-place finish could be enough to get them in the field of 68. However, their lack of overall depth and experience could stop another deep run like last year.