March is closing in, and that means the stakes are much higher for NCAA men’s basketball. Every game means more – especially for teams on the bubble. While Clemson is not, most of its remaining opponents are fighting for a spot, creating a potential recipe for chaos.

At this point last year, Clemson had suffered its most crushing loss of the season against a Louisville team that ended the year with a 4-28 record. That loss was one of the main reasons why Clemson missed the NCAA Tournament last season, and although the Tigers find themselves in a much better spot this time around, they can’t get comfortable.

Despite a disappointing loss to the Wolfpack last weekend, Clemson still holds a 17-8 record (7-7 ACC). As of Tuesday, the Tigers had a NET ranking of No. 27, thanks to holding their own with one of the toughest schedules in the nation. They hold a record of 4-3 against Quadrant 1 opponents and 4-4 against Quadrant 2 opponents, leading ESPN to project Clemson as a No. 5 seed for the tournament.

While the Tigers have been surging up the bracketology projections, they dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 in the ACC standings. Clemson has two future opponents who are currently ahead of them in the standings, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. Both teams have an 8-6 conference record but have had very different seasons.

Pittsburgh is currently on a five-game win streak, while Wake Forest is on a two-game slump.
The Tigers faced Pittsburgh last December and walked away victorious, and will rematch the Panthers next Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., before traveling to Wake Forest for their last game of the regular season on March 9 at 6 p.m.

Clemson will travel to Atlanta on Wednesday to take on Georgia Tech, which clinched an emotional double-overtime win over the Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum just over a month ago.