NCAA Basketball: Arizona, Duke, and San Diego State rises in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
18. Clemson (11-1)
The lone stain on Clemson’s nonconference run was a two point road loss at Memphis back in the middle of December, and a lot of great teams can and will lose by more than that in that building. The Tigers won big at Alabama and Pittsburgh and handled TCU, taking care of business against a schedule that wasn’t exactly super challenging but set them up well for the rest of the season.
With ACC play nearing, the Tigers finished that previous slate at home on Friday, getting a 93-58 win over Radford. Clemson played perhaps their most efficient offensive game of the season, led by 24 points from Joe Girard III and 17 points from star center PJ Hall. The Tigers did everything needed to take care of the Highlanders and enter ACC play with their heads held high.
With the current state of the conference, Clemson actually enters as one of the favorites to win the ACC this season. Their offense sits among the Top 20 in the nation; we’ll just have to see how their defense and playmakers handle some of the more potent teams in this league. Chances to see them in action come quickly, as the Tigers will be at Miami next Wednesday before a highly-anticipated home game versus North Carolina.