The Clemson Tigers didn’t have the finish they would have liked to close the 2025-26 men’s basketball regular season after their 10-1 start in ACC play.
Clemson (22-9 overall, 12-6 conference) closed the regular season with a 79-76 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Senior Day at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday. Led by 15 points apiece from Nick Davidson and Butta Johnson, the Tigers erased a 10-point second-half deficit to avoid a loss to a Quad 4 opponent.
Advertisement
Carter Welling added 13 points and Ace Buckner finished with 10 to give Clemson four players in double figures.
But the Tigers’ 67-63 loss to North Carolina earlier in the week was one of five losses in their final seven games of the regular season. Clemson will enter the ACC Tournament in Charlotte as the No. 5 seed, but the Tigers won’t be ranked in either of the top 25 polls.
In Monday’s new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, Clemson remained outside the rankings and didn’t receive any votes for top 25 consideration.
The Tigers will open ACC Tournament play on Wednesday. They’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 12 seed Virginia Tech (19-12, 8-10) and No. 13 seed Wake Forest (16-15, 7-11).
Advertisement
Clemson vs. Virginia Tech or Wake Forest will get underway at 9:30 p.m. ET from Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The Tigers’ game will be televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings after 2025-26 men’s basketball regular season
The full top 25 rankings in Monday’s USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll are below.
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
PTS |
1st |
Prev |
Chg |
Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Duke |
29-2 |
772 |
28 |
1 |
– |
1/6 |
|
2 |
Arizona |
29-2 |
737 |
3 |
2 |
– |
1/13 |
|
3 |
Michigan |
29-2 |
721 |
0 |
3 |
– |
1/7 |
|
4 |
Florida |
25-6 |
677 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
3/NR |
|
5 |
Houston |
26-5 |
640 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
2/8 |
|
6 |
UConn |
27-4 |
614 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
3/7 |
|
7 |
Iowa State |
25-6 |
564 |
0 |
7 |
– |
2/18 |
|
8 |
Michigan State |
25-6 |
537 |
0 |
8 |
– |
8/21 |
|
9 |
Illinois |
24-7 |
514 |
0 |
11 |
2 |
6/19 |
|
10 |
Nebraska |
26-5 |
492 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
5/NR |
|
11 |
Virginia |
27-4 |
475 |
0 |
13 |
2 |
11/NR |
|
12 |
Gonzaga |
28-3 |
439 |
0 |
12 |
– |
5/20 |
|
13 |
St. John’s |
25-6 |
366 |
0 |
17 |
4 |
6/NR |
|
14 |
Texas Tech |
22-9 |
319 |
0 |
10 |
4 |
10/20 |
|
15 |
Alabama |
23-8 |
313 |
0 |
16 |
1 |
9/NR |
|
16 |
Kansas |
22-9 |
308 |
0 |
15 |
1 |
9/NR |
|
17 |
Arkansas |
23-8 |
295 |
0 |
19 |
2 |
14/23 |
|
18 |
Purdue |
23-8 |
294 |
0 |
14 |
4 |
1/18 |
|
19 |
North Carolina |
24-7 |
199 |
0 |
18 |
1 |
12/25 |
|
20 |
Miami (OH) |
31-0 |
191 |
0 |
20 |
– |
20/NR |
|
21 |
Saint Mary’s |
27-4 |
177 |
0 |
21 |
– |
21/NR |
|
22 |
Vanderbilt |
24-7 |
160 |
0 |
22 |
– |
8/NR |
|
23 |
Wisconsin |
22-9 |
90 |
0 |
NR |
5 |
21/NR |
|
24 |
Louisville |
22-9 |
73 |
0 |
NR |
3 |
5/NR |
|
25 |
Miami (FL) |
24-7 |
31 |
0 |
23 |
2 |
23/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 24 Saint Louis; No. 25 Tennessee;
Others Receiving Votes
Villanova 27; Tennessee 22; Saint Louis 9; UCLA 6; Georgia 6; Utah State 3; Ohio State 2; BYU 2;
Clemson basketball schedule 2026
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ full 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule.
Advertisement
All start times Eastern.
-
Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
-
Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
-
Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
-
Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
-
Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
-
Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
-
Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
-
Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
-
Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
-
Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
-
Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
-
Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
-
Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
-
Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-68)
-
Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
-
Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
-
Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
-
Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
-
Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech (W, 77-63)
-
Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh (W, 63-52)
-
Feb. 4: at Stanford (W, 66-64)
-
Feb. 7: at California (W, 77-55)
-
Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech (L, 76-66)
-
Feb. 14: at Duke (L, 67-54)
-
Feb. 18: at Wake Forest (L, 85-77)
-
Feb. 28: vs. Louisville (W, 80-75)
-
March 3: at North Carolina (L, 67-63)
-
March 7: vs. Georgia Tech (W, 79-76)
-
March 11: vs. TBD, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU
Record: 22-9.
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson’s ranking in USAT Coaches Poll entering ACC Tournament
