Brad Brownell previews Clemson's potential ACC Tournament matchups

Clemson comes to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament with work left to do in order to ensure an at-large bid to the NCAA field. Of course, the Tigers could just win out this weekend and snag the auto bid in a down year for an ACC, but that’s the less likely scenario. Rather, they have a double-bye this week and absolutely must win their first game of the week to even have a shot at having their named called by Greg Gumbel on Sunday afternoon.

So, looking over their options, Clemson will play the winner of NC State and either Virginia Tech and Notre Dame — whichever of those last two wins on Tuesday, plays State on Wednesday before the winner of that matchup gets the Tigers on Thursday. Confusing? That’s about right when it comes to conference tourneys with all the double-byes and seeding arrangements.

Anyway, head coach Brad Brownell was asked in his media availability ahead of the tournament which of those clubs he thinks would be the best matchup for his team. He declined to tip his hand as to who he would prefer, but did offer insight on how each matchup is a bit different depending on the opponent.

“Yeah, we’ll find out who we play and we’ll play them,” said Brownell. “You know, they’re different though. A lot of the teams are different. We have played NC State and Notre Dame much more recently. It’s been a while since we played Tech. You know, NC State’s going to be more athletic, more full-court basketball.

“Notre Dame and and Virginia Tech are going to be a little bit more half-court style, so, you know, whoever it is we play will have won a game and be playing well and maybe won two games and be playing well. And so, you know, when you get to that point, a lot of the things don’t matter. Tournament basketball is just — it’s different and you’re gonna have to play really well to win.”

If you injected Coach Brownell with a truth serum, he’d probably tell you the Tigers could really use a Quad 1 opportunity against a team like NC State. Although, perhaps he’d like to cushion the overall record with an easier win over a Notre Dame type of team to set up a Quad 1 opportunity in the semifinals. Either way, Brad Brownell’s group needs a quality victories this week.