Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 10 Clemson battled back to beat SMU 57-54 on Thursday night for its ninth straight win to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The sixth-seeded SMU Mustangs (23-10) fought to the finish against three-seed Clemson (27-5), the No. 10 team in the nation, but ultimately fell 57-54, ending their run in this year’s ACC tournament.

The No. 3 seed Clemson (26-5) and No. 6 seed SMU (23-9) will meet in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the SMU Mustangs vs. Clemson Tigers NCAAM game to be played on March 13, 2025 on ESPN.

Clemson is moving on in the ACC Tournament. Barely. The Tigers didn’t look like a top seed for various stretches but scraped out a 57-54 win over SMU in their opening ACC Tournament game on Thursday night.

Clemson will play in the ACC Tournament as the third seed. After a record for regular-season wins, they have a shot at winning the tournament championship.

The No. 10-ranked Clemson Tigers take on the SMU Mustangs tonight in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Charlotte. As the No. 3 seed, Clemson secured a double-bye and enters the matchup riding an eight-game win streak.

Clemson enjoyed the full double-bye in the ACC tournament and their first game has arrived. First, let’s look at the bracket: The Tigers have already locked up their NCAA tournament bid and likely no-worse than a 6-seed.