CLEMSON — Could the AP voters get their head out of the sand.
Yes! I am talking to you, Seth Davis.
I am talking to you too, Jeff Borzello and the other six voters who decided winning 20 games overall and holding a 10-1 record inside the Atlantic Coast Conference does not deserve a vote in their weekly AP ballot.
How could this be possible? It does not make sense.
Maybe they accidentally left Clemson off their ballot, which is worse in my opinion, so let’s hope that is not the case.
Now, I know it does not matter. Where the AP voters place the Tigers has no bearing on the NCAA Tournament whatsoever.
However, it is the perception, it is the respect. It is all of those things.
It is the principle of the matter.
It is not like Clemson came out of nowhere this season. The Tigers, who stayed at No. 20 in the AP poll despite going 2-0 on a West Coast road trip that most ACC teams lost, finished second in the ACC standings last year. They just earned their fourth consecutive 20-win season and their sixth in the last nine years.
Clemson is a shoo-in to make the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive year and for the fifth time in the last eight years it has been held. Since 2018, the program has been to the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite 8 once.
The Tigers have won 94 games since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, which ranks second in the ACC during that span.
Speaking of the ACC, Clemson is 53-18 against conference foes during that same time, second only to Duke.
Oh, by the way, Clemson returned from California with its 14th consecutive road win in ACC play. No ACC team has accomplished that in the last 25 years, and it is tied for the second longest road winning streak in the history of the conference.
Also, it is the is the longest active streak of its kind in the country.
Another note, Clemson’s 15-1 road record over the last two seasons, ranks No. 1 in the ACC.
What should cement all of this is head coach Brad Brownell, who had to rebuild a team this season after 90-percent of its roster moved on following a record-breaking 27-win season. Seven players exhausted eligibility, while six others entered the transfer portal.
Dillon Hunter, Dallas Thomas and Ace Buckner were all that returned.
Brownell built this year’s team by adding six veteran players from the transfer portal. He also brought in a freshman class that included Zac Foster and Chase Thompson.
Foster was a budding star before tearing his ACL against rival South Carolina in December, while Thompson has contributed a lot in the last few games.
The six transfers—Nick Davidson, Carter Welling, R.J. Godfrey, Jake Wahlin, Butta Johnson and Jestin Porter—along with Hunter, have led the way as a team that is deep and plays together better than any Brownell has had.
This year is by far the best coaching job Brownell has done in his 16 seasons at Clemson. He has done it well enough that he should be voted ACC Coach of the Year.
Of course, it might help if the AP voters wake up and pay attention to what he has actually done at Clemson and give the program the respect it deserves.