There’s a silver lining from Clemson’s loss to BYU on Tuesday night, at least the way this ESPN college basketball analyst sees it.

Though the Tigers (7-3) surrendered a 21-point halftime lead and lost 67-64 to No. 10 BYU (8-1) on a buzzer-beater in the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf believes Clemson head coach Brad Brownell might still have a team that can make the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season.

In an ESPN article, Medcalf weighed in on what the loss to BYU means for Clemson.

“Brad Brownell may have a squad this season that can earn him a third NCAA tournament berth in a row,” he wrote. “The Tigers surrendered 169 points combined in losses to Alabama and Georgetown this season, but held BYU — a top-five offensive unit — to just 22 points in the first half. They can build on that moving forward, despite this loss.”

After making a run to the Elite Eight during the 2023-24 season, the fifth-seeded Tigers fell 69-67 to No. 12 seed McNeese in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.

Brownell’s team has played two teams ranked inside the Top 15 this month, suffering narrow, hard-fought defeats each time. Before falling to BYU, Clemson lost 90-84 at No. 12 Alabama in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 3.

After the loss to BYU, the Tigers dropped two spots in the NET Rankings to No. 27.

Clemson returns to action at home on Saturday to host Mercer at 3 p.m. on ACCNX. The Tigers are undefeated at home thus far this season, having won all five of their contests in Littlejohn Coliseum.