The Clemson Tigers are set for their rematch against the Pitt Panthers in ACC play to close out Week 13 of the 2025-26 college basketball season Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson (17-4 overall, 7-1 conference) is ranked No. 19 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the AP Top 25 poll; Pittsburgh (9-12, 2-6) is unranked in the polls. The Panthers are one of only two ACC teams with below-.500 records this season.
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The Tigers, meanwhile, are coming off a 77-63 win at Georgia Tech in Atlanta last Saturday. Jake Wahlin and Nick Davidson had 13 points apiece, Dillon Hunter and Ace Buckner both added 12, and the Tigers made seven 3-pointers in the second half. Clemson has won 10 of its last 11 games.
Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak on Tuesday night with an 80-76 overtime win over Wake Forest. Roman Siulepa and Barry Dunning Jr. both scored 15 points apiece, and Omari Witherspoon sank the go-ahead basket with 15 seconds to play in overtime.
Will Clemson basketball beat Pittsburgh again? ESPN’s prediction
ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college basketball power index (BPI) and other variables, gives Clemson an 88.8% chance to win and Pittsburgh an 11.2% chance.
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The Tigers are 26th nationally in ESPN’s latest BPI ratings, down one spot from last week. Clemson has a 15.7 overall BPI rating. The metrics give the Tigers a 6.5 rating on offense that ranks 52nd nationally, and a 9.3 rating on defense that’s 16th nationally.
Pittsburgh is No. 90 in BPI with an overall rating of 6.6. The Panthers have a 4.3 rating on offense and a 2.3 rating on defense.
ESPN projects Clemson basketball’s odds of winning the ACC
Rounded up, ESPN’s BPI ratings give Clemson an overall final record projection of 24-7, a slight improvement from last week that includes a 14-4 mark in ACC play. The Tigers’ remaining strength of schedule rates 75th nationally.
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Clemson is currently given a 4.3% chance of winning the ACC title, which is down from 5.9% last week.
The Duke Blue Devils lead ESPN’s BPI with a 25.1 rating (13.0 offense, 12.1 defense). Among ACC teams, Clemson is ranked fourth in BPI, one spot behind Virginia.
ACC basketball teams ranked by ESPN BPI after first month of conference play
Here’s a full look at all 18 ACC teams ranked by ESPN’s basketball power index.
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18. Boston College Eagles (0.6 BPI, 152nd nationally)
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17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3.2 BPI, 115th nationally)
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15. Stanford Cardinal (6.3 BPI, 93rd nationally)
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14. Pittsburgh Panthers (6.6 BPI, 90th nationally)
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12. California Golden Bears (8.0 BPI, 76th nationally)
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11. Virginia Tech Hokies (8.3 BPI, 72nd nationally)
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10. Syracuse Orange (8.6 BPI, 67th nationally)
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9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9.6 BPI, 62nd nationally)
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8. Miami Hurricanes (13.0 BPI, 41st nationally)
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7. SMU Mustangs (13.1 BPI, 40th nationally)
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4. NC State Wolfpack (15.8 BPI, 25th nationally)
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3. Virginia Cavaliers (16.0 BPI, 23rd nationally)
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2. Louisville Cardinals (19.6 BPI, 10th nationally)
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1. Duke Blue Devils (25.1 BPI, 1st nationally)
What is ESPN College Basketball Power Index (FPI)?
ESPN explains:
The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily.”
Clemson basketball schedule 2026
A general view of the court at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ full 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule.
All start times Eastern.
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Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
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Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
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Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
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Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
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Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
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Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
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Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
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Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
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Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
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Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
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Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
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Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
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Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
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Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-680)
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Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
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Jan. 10: at Notre Dame (W, 76-61)
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Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
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Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
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Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
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Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech (W, 77-63)
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Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh, Noon, ACC Network
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Feb. 4: at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 7: at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 14: at Duke, Noon, ESPN
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Feb. 18: at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
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Feb. 21: Florida State, Noon, The CW
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Feb. 28: vs. Louisville, TBD
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March 7: vs. Georgia Tech, Noon, ACC Network
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball odds of beating Pitt Panthers in rematch, per ESPN
