Sitting at 4-6 in the ACC, Clemson’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid were starting to look bleak. Projected as a lower seed, the Tigers’ margin for error was growing thin.

That was until Clemson became the first team to take down No. 3 North Carolina in the Dean Dome Tuesday night, and now that hope for March could become a certainty.

ESPN released its Bubble Watch on short notice after the Tigers’ victory, and Clemson was still in the “work to do” section with nine games to play in the regular season.

For just the second time in 62 tries, Clemson won at North Carolina. PJ Hall put up 25 points on 20 shots to go with nine boards in a four-point victory for the Tigers. With away wins versus UNC and Alabama to its name, Brad Brownell’s team has the quality victories to put alongside an ACC record that still stands at just 5-6. Prior to the historic occurrence against the Tar Heels, Clemson was looking like a projected No. 8 seed. That position can now be improved, provided the Tigers get the job done at Syracuse and at home against Miami and NC State.

Following the victory, Clemson moved up six spots to No. 31 in the NET rankings. This Quad 1 victory was far more than just that, and it made the Tigers’ 4-4 in such games.

As noted in the Bubble Watch, the work isn’t nearly done. Clemson has to handle business at home, a place it’s lost two of its last three in. Let this win fuel a late win, and the Tigers could return to a seed projection we saw back in December.