Clemson's Disastrous March Madness Start vs. McNeese State Summed Up by One Brutal Stat

This is not the performance the ACC needed.

Clemson Tigers center Viktor Lakhin falls to the floor against the McNeese State Cowboys during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

After a rough season for the ACC, No. 5 seed Clemson was considered the league's best hope for a deep run outside of top-seed Duke. There's still plenty of time left, but the Tigers got off to about as bad of a start as possible in their first-round game against No. 12 McNeese State on Thursday afternoon.

Clemson trailed 31–13 at the half, after hitting just 1-of-15 three-point attempts and turning the ball over 10 times.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, it marked the worst first-half performance for a men's NCAA tournament for an ACC team since 2001.

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

Clemson's second half has been a bit more fruitful, but they're still trailing McNeese 48–29 with just over nine minutes remaining in the contest. To pour salt on the wound a bit, McNeese coach Will Wade is a Clemson alum (and a diehard Tigers football fan), and just landed a new job for the 2025–26 season ... at Clemson's ACC rival NC State.

The winner of Thursday's game will take on No. 4 Purdue, which beat No. 13 High Point 75–63 earlier Thursday. Right now, it looks like McNeese could be an early potential Cinderella, while Clemson could be the second ACC team out of the bracket before the Thursday night slate after Louisville's loss to Creighton on Thursday afternoon.

---

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated

•

Tom Izzo Had Relatable Reaction to Start Time for Michigan State Second Round Game

•

Under Armour Reps Flew to Amir Khan to Give Him Latest NIL Garb: A Jumpsuit

•

Ref Appeared to Fake a Court Issue to Get Bench Player a March Madness Appearance

•

Big East Record in NCAA Tournament (Updated After Round 1)

•

Tom Izzo Had a Hilarious Quote About Not Being Able to Escape Pitino Family in March