When the brackets for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament were released on Sunday night, it was surprising that the ACC had four teams in the 68-team field. Duke, Louisville, and Clemson were not surprising, but what was surprising was North Carolina getting a bid for the First Four.
After two days of the college basketball world going crazy on social media about the Tar Heels getting a bid, UNC went out and steamrolled San Diego State, 95-68, to earn a first-round matchup on Friday with Ole Miss out of the SEC. Duke will open their run on Friday as well against Mount Saint Mary's, but on Thursday, the conference's two other tournament entries, Louisville and Clemson began their March Madness runs.
If you have been paying attention, the lack of respect, if you call it, for the conference this year was a running joke all winter. On Thursday, the Cardinals and Tigers did nothing to try and change that narrative in their openers.
Clemson and Louisville bounced in the first round and social media pounds heavily on the ACC
Louisville kicked off the day and was beaten, 89-75, by Creighton as the Blue Jays led by double digits from the first half on. Then Clemson had a putrid performance for the first 35 minutes, trailing McNeese by double digits for nearly the entire game until their defense and offense cut it to single digits late, but it was a case of too little, too late in a, 69-67, loss.. Two games and two losses for a conference that prides itself in basketball and social media went nuts.
Clemson is actually playing some of the worst basketball I’ve ever seen
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 20, 2025
Will Wade is potentially setting the tone for a new ACC rivalry with NC State and Clemson.
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) March 20, 2025
Elsewhere, WCC Tournament Champs Gonzaga, got off to a 13-0 skunk over UGA to start things in Wichita.
If you thought the narrative on ACC basketball couldn’t get any worse… check again after today
— Pete B. (@petebvt) March 20, 2025
These two teams went 36-4 in the ACC this year pic.twitter.com/ygrHtBwo7o
— Greg Waddell (@gwizzy12) March 20, 2025
Numbers wise, it was a bad game for Clemson who couldn't hit anything, inside or outside against the athletic Cowboys.
How bad has it been for Clemson? They put forth the worst performance by an ACC team in the first half of an NCAA tournament team in a generation (Wake Forest scored 10 vs. Butler in 2001), per @ESPNStatsInfo
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 20, 2025
This is a real halftime score:
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 20, 2025
McNeese 31, Clemson 13.
The Tigers went 18-2 in the ACC. They just got run off the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
I've made some BAD bracket picks before.
— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) March 20, 2025
Clemson to the Final Four in 2025 is looking like it is one of the worst ever. I am stupid.
I’ve watched a lot of Clemson hoops in my lifetime.
— Mark Packer (@MarkPacker) March 20, 2025
I’m having a hard time thinking of a worse first half performance than what just took place in Providence.
Discussed Clemson’s struggles the last 5 games beyond the arc on yesterday’s show.
1st half….1-15 from 3.
12 seed McNeese now leads No. 5 Clemson, 40-16. That is not a typo.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 20, 2025
The conference's last two hopes are rivals Duke and North Carolina.
Per CBS Sports' research team: McNeese beating Clemson means the ACC can only have two (at most) teams left in the round of 32/second round, which would tie for the league's fewest teams standing this early in the NCAA Tournament since the field expanded to 32 teams in 1975 🫣
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 20, 2025
It's safe to say that the narrative this season on the ACC is real.