Clemson’s creeping to the championship.

The hype is brewing. The fans are ready. The brackets are set. The bets are made. Who is will walk out with the win in this years NCAA men’s basketball tournament? Better yet who even has the chance to take it all the way to the Final Four? Everyone has their team with the stats and score sheets in their right hand, hoping and praying their team has the opportunity to make it or cut it close.

My friends say a Michigan – Michigan State game would be “legendary”. It’d be the end of all feuds about who’s the cream of the crop. As promising of a game that’d be, a lot of other schools have leveled up their skill and also have the chance. In my opinion, Clemson has really grown, this year especially, and could be the disruption of this most epic game.

Although they lost, Clemson’s battle against Syracuse demonstrated what they can do. They had 12 turnovers and 33 rebounds. They also managed to have a 40% field goal average. Although Clemson lacked in the first half of their game against Syracuse, they turned it on and showed what they’re capable of in the second quarter.

Clemson’s starting lineup this year has Clyde Trapp, Marcquise Reed, Lyles Davis, and Mark Donnal as the guards and Josh Smith closing it out as the forward. Freshmen Clyde Trapp averaged 13 points a game, as a junior for his high school Lower Richland. 24/7 Sports rated him the No. 4 prospect in the state of South Carolina. Junior, Marquise Reed, last year averaged 21 points per game in the regular season. Reed’s also made 6-11 shots with 4 steals in 25 minutes. Junior, Mark Donnal, Clemson’s starting forward, transferred from the University of Michigan. Donnal had 12 points at Michigan’s win over Indiana at the Big Ten tournament a few years back, hitting all six of his field goal attempts.

Furthermore, Clemson has one of the better coaches of the teams. Brad Brownell was named the 22nd head men’s basketball coach at Clemson. In seven seasons at Clemson, he has managed a 124-103 record and taken the Tigers to the 2011 NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances. He is number one in Clemson coaching history, in terms of winning percentage. Brownell is more than qualified to take this amazing team all the way.

The combination of incredible staff, clearly athletic players, and extremely supportive fans, shows that, if any team has a chance to show out this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it’s Clemson.