Clemson outside USA TODAY Sports preseason men’s basketball coaches poll

Mar 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Clemson Tigers mascot Tiger Cub performs in the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the finals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With the start of the 2024-25 college basketball season only days away, Wednesday saw the unveiling of the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.

The Clemson Tigers placed outside the Top 25, same as with the preseason AP Top 25 poll last week. The Tigers garnered eight votes for Top 25 consideration in the coaches poll.

Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks took the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 2. The two-time defending champion UConn Huskies were ranked No. 3, with the Houston Cougars No. 4 and Duke Blue Devils No. 5.

Duke and the No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels were the only ACC schools that were ranked in the Top 25. Behind Duke and UNC, Clemson’s eight votes for consideration were the most of any ACC school outside the Top 25.

The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament last season as a No. 6 seed and reeled off three straight wins against the No. 11 seed New Mexico Lobos, the No. 3 seed Baylor Bears and the No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980. Clemson fell, 89-82, to Alabama with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Coach Brad Brownell’s 2024-25 team returns sixth-year senior guard Chase Hunter and senior forward Ian Schieffelin, the ACC’s Most Improved Player from a season ago.

The Tigers open the season on Monday, Nov. 4 at Littlejohn Coliseum against Charleston Southern. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).

Rank

School

Last Year’s Record

Points

1

Kansas

23-11

743 (15)

2

Alabama

25-12

718 (6)

3

Connecticut

37-3

717 (6)

4

Houston

32-5

698 (4)

5

Duke

27-9

625

6

Iowa State

29-8

591

7

Gonzaga

27-8

575

8

Baylor

24-11

545

9

Arizona

27-9

510

10

North…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/clemson-outside-usa-today-sports-195942796.html

Author : Clemson Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-23 19:59:00

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