February is here, and that means March Madness is beginning to take shape. The Clemson basketball team finds itself right in the thick of the NCAA Tournament picture. Through the end of the season, TCI will have a regular update of the Tigers’ body of work complete with RPI ranking, KenPom.com ranking, and a percentage chance the Tigers are included in the field courtesy of TeamRankings.com, along with the differentials since the last update.
Record: 15-10 (8-5 ACC)
RPI: 88th (-1, 5-5 Top 50, 7-7 Top 100)
KenPom.com: 50th (+7)
Chances: 12.6% (+3%)
Qualk’s Take: Clemson couldn’t really afford to lose to Georgia Tech on Saturday, and it didn’t. The Tigers escaped with a comfortable win and now embark upon a handful of games in which they absolutely must put their best collective foot forward. Clemson cannot afford to be mediocre in terms of level of play and wins and losses down the stretch. I’ve got 24 teams vying for 12 open spots in the field right now, and Clemson finds itself currently on the outside with room to move upward if wins start piling up.
Here are some games to watch tonight that could impact Clemson’s NCAA Tournament chances…
Creighton at Butler (-5.5), 7:00, FS1: The RPI has these teams in different stratospheres. Butler has a more viable NCAA Tournament shot at this point, but the analytics really like Creighton, and the Jays have been hot of late. They are looking for their fourth consecutive victory on the road against a Bulldogs team that has dealt with lots of emotional turmoil this season but has unquestionably underachieved in Big East play. The loser here will have a ton of work to do to get into the field.
Michigan (-1) at Ohio State, 7:00, ESPN: Ohio State is basically a nonfactor. The Buckeyes lack quality or depth in their group of wins, so it looks like the NIT for Thad Matta’s bunch. This game matters for Michigan, which is hovering right around that 50th spot in the RPI and the analytic rankings. The Wolverines are playing great ball, and no one will blame them for dropping this game. A win, however, and Michigan will likely be solidly in for the time being.
Florida (-1.5) at Georgia, 9:00, ESPN: The Gators will be dancing in March. This team is really good, albeit a bit under the radar all season long. This game is absolutely massive for Georgia, though. The Bulldogs have a winning record in SEC play, but they are only 3-9 against the RPI top 100. Mark Fox’s squad has five games left against teams in that group, so the time is now to start racking up victories in pursuit of a spot on the dance floor alongside Florida. Lose to the Gators, and the margin for error shrinks considerably.
Vanderbilt (-3) at Mississippi State, 9:00, SECN: Vandy is in big trouble on the outskirts of the bubble. I don’t have the Commodores in the field, and many people are starting to crank up the heat on Kevin Stallings. Much like Georgia, Vandy can surge down the stretch to make a case for inclusion in the field of 68. That can’t happen if this game doesn’t go into the win column. The Commodores have to prove consistency by taking care of business against a Bulldog team that is playing much better basketball than its RPI ranking would suggest.