ESPN says Clemson is no longer a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s latest men’s college basketball “Bubble Watch” – tracking which teams will make, or miss, the NCAA Tournament – moved Clemson out of the category of being a tournament “lock.”

Now, the Tigers (20-8, 10-5 ACC) are grouped among the ACC teams that “should be in” – in other words, as defined by ESPN, “Teams tracking safely above the cutline (generally 75% consensus at-large odds or better), but not immune to trouble. Most likely, these teams should hear their names called on March 15, though their fates are not yet assured.”

Here’s what ESPN’s Neil Paine wrote about Clemson, which is in the midst of a four-game losing streak — vs. Virginia Tech on Feb. 11, at Duke on Feb. 14, at Wake Forest on Feb. 18, and most recently, a 70-65 defeat at the hands of Florida State this past Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson.

“Clemson has gotten ice-cold at the wrong time,” Paine wrote. “The Tigers had been an ACC ‘lock’ since Bubble Watch launched on Feb. 3, with a 97% or higher at-large probability in the forecast every day for the past three weeks — until Saturday. They fell below that threshold with their fourth loss in a row, this time to Quadrant 3 Florida State. They still rank in the low-to-mid 30s nationally on résumé (no worse than eighth in the ACC) and their consensus chances are still around 90% despite the slump. But they have been downgraded as a result, trending lower in the conference’s pecking order according to the odds.”

The current four-game losing streak marks the first time the Tigers have lost four games in a row since the 2021-22 season, and the cold spell comes on the heels of a hot stretch for the Tigers.

Prior to the four straight losses, the Tigers had won 13 of their last 14 games. Before the loss at Duke, Clemson had won 14 consecutive ACC road games dating back to last season – tied for the second longest streak in ACC history (Duke from 1962-64).

Brad Brownell’s Tigers return to the court on Saturday when they host Louisville at Littlejohn Coliseum (2 p.m., ESPN2).

Along with Clemson, ESPN lists SMU and Miami as teams that “should be in” the NCAA Tournament, while Duke, Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina and NC State are all currently tournament “locks” according to ESPN. Virginia Tech and Cal are listed as having “work to do” to make the tourney.