Brad Brownell believes Clemson has formula for NCAA Tournament success

March is right around the corner. With that, teams are jockeying for position in the NCAA Tournament, with some teams feeling better than others. That includes the Clemson Tigers, led by head coach Brad Brownell.

Now firmly in the NCAA Tournament field, Brownell recently shared that he believes his Tigers have the formula for success in the tournament.

“I think so,” Brad Brownell said. “I hope so. You know, it’s hard because tournament play is kind of a one and done and there’s so many things that can go into that. Foul trouble, guys not shooting well.”

The latest bracketology from On3 has Clemson as a five-seed and heading to the West Bracket. There, they’re projected to play Drake. Of course, there’s still some regular season and the conference tournaments left that could help to change things up. Then, in ESPN’s latest bracketology, Clemson is set to earn a six-seed and and play BYU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are also ranked 16th in the latest BPI. That’s up three spots from the last poll there.

At this point in the season, Brad Brownell has led Clemson to a 22-5 record and a 14-2 record in ACC play. That has the Tigers tied with the Louisville Cardinals for second in the ACC standings, trailing the Duke Blue Devils by a game. That’s a Duke team that Clemson has already managed to beat this season. That win was one of six Quad 1 games that Clemson played this season, going 4-2 against those opponents. They’re 11-1 against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents.

“But I do think we have an older group that can deal with some adversity that is battled with a lot of different things that has show good poise and maturity with all the different things we’ve had to deal with and different styles of play,” Brownell said. “That’s helpful as well.”

Clemson is coming off a season where they missed the NCAA Tournament entirely. That came a season after making it to the Elite Eight, which was the deepest run for Clemson under Brad Brownell. So, it’s a group with experience come this time of year.

Before getting to the NCAA Tournament, Clemson still has four conference game, starting with Notre Dame at home on Wednesday. After that, the Tigers are hoping to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament, potentially earning the conference’s automatic bid in the process. Success there and to end the season could help Clemson earn a higher seed come tournament time.