The conference season is nearly upon us in college basketball and the Clemson Tigers have put a massive bow their non-conference slate with an emphatic win over No. 4 Kentucky at Littlejohn Coliseum.

With the victory, the Tigers have now won their last four games against AP-top five opponents. This is the type of win that has a major impact on March and ESPN noted it in the the debrief from the SEC-ACC Challenge.

The Tigers are coming off an Elite Eight appearance, but they didn’t receive much hype entering the season. Now, they’re 8-1, with the lone loss coming in a true road game at Boise State. They are pretty clearly a top-four team in the ACC, and this is the type of win that will have staying power come Selection Sunday. — Borzello

Following this victory, head coach Brad Brownell has to turn focus to an early ACC matchup with Miami Saturday before No. 16 Memphis comes to town.

Should Clemson walk out of both games with a win, the resume will be a deep one before conference play opens up.