Rutgers or Clemson? It is difficult to choose 10 vs 7 matchups in the 2021 March Madness bracket.

The NCAA tournament ground of 2021 is set, giving us attractive first-round matchups like 5-seed Colorado vs. 12-seed Georgetown and 8-seed North Carolina vs. 9-seed Wisconsin.

But perhaps no first-round matchup is more awkward than a 10–7 matchup between Clemson and Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights (-1) opened up as the only 10-seed to be favorites in their respective matchups, though both they and the Tigers have issues that the other team could capitalize on in the first round. Nor did it inspire the team to instill more confidence in March Madness, which makes their meeting more interesting.

Clemson (16-7, 10-6 ACC) has a better record than Rutgers (15-11, 10-10 Big Ten); But it’s important to note that the Tigers are considered a mediocre ACC, while the Scarlet Knights’ record is probably skewed by the Big Ten’s difficulty, which is the clear top conference in basketball this season.

With this, here is all you need to know about the matchup between Clemson and the Rutgers, including rankings, key players, season breakdowns and more:

Expert Bag Picture:
DeCourcy (Gonzaga) | Alcoholic (Illinois) | Fagan (Gonzaga) | Lutowski (Baylor)

When is Rutgers vs Clemson?

Rutgers-Clemson has the 17th overall game played on March Madness, including the first four games. Below is a description of his game, which includes time, TV and venue.

• Date: Friday, March 19
• Time: 9:20 pm ET
• TV: TBS
• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Rutgers (15-11, 10-10 Big Ten)

Rutgers are in a curious state, history-wise. It is the Scarlet Knights’ first dance in 30 seasons when they suffered a first-round loss to Arizona State in the 1991 NCAA Tournament. Therefore, no one is telling how Steve Pikil’s team will make the most of their opportunity. Regardless, the Scarlet Knights square off where Sporting News predicted him to land the NCAA tournament.

Like Clemson, this team enjoyed a good run of success in the early part of the season, starting with a 6–0 record, including a 91–88 win at No. 3 overall seed Illinois. The Scarlet Knights did not secure another ranked victory (losing seven games) in the order of Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Illinois.

Nevertheless, the Rutgers enjoyed several notable wins in the season, including 11-seed Syracuse, 10-seed Maryland, 4-seed Purdue and First Four Team Michigan State.

• Net Ranking: 38
• KenPom Ranking: 34
• Quad 1 Record: 4-9
• Quad 2 Record: 6-2
• Quad 3 Record: 3-0
• Quad 4 Record: 2-0
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 75th
• Defensive efficiency: 18th

key players

Ron Harper (6-6, 245 lb. Junior Guard)
15.4 pages, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg

Jacob Young (6-6, 185-pound senior guard)
14.4 pages, 1.9 rpg, 3.5 apg

Geo Baker (6-4, 195-pound senior guard)
10.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.1 apg

Montez Mathis (6-4, 210-pound junior guard)
8.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.8 apg

Mayles Johnson (6-11, 255-pound junior forward)
8.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.8 apg

Field Construction:
WEST | East | South | MIDWEST

Clemson (16-7, 10-6 ACC)

A tad could be oversized at Tigers No. 7, based on the final field of 68 predictions by Sporting News; Bill Bender introduced Clemson as the 9 seed.

He, he said, enjoyed considerable success and tried to score a run at a high level before suffering some setbacks in mid-January. The Tigers opened their season at 9-2, enjoying wins over 2-seed Alabama (64-56), 4-seed Purdue (81-70) and 4-seed Florida State (77-67). They finished with six defeats in their final 13 matches, including a 63–50 win over 8-seed UNC, but also a disappointing loss to Miami in the ACC tournament.

• Net Ranking: 41
• KenPom Ranking: 42
• Quad 1 Record: 3-6
• Quad 2 Record: 7-0
• Quad 3 record: 5-1
• Quad 4 Record: 1–0
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 99th
• Defensive efficiency: 20th

key players

Aamir Sims (6-9, 245-pound senior forward)
13.3 PPS, 6.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 54.3 field goal percentage, 40.7 3-point percentage

Al-Amir Dawes (6-2, 180-pound Sopmore Guard)
9.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 42.4 field goal percentage, 38.7 3-point percentage

Nick Honor (5-10 Sampore Guard)
8.4 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.3 RPG, 40.5 field goal percentage, 38.5 3-point percentage

Hunter Tyson (6-8, 215-pound junior forward)
7.4 PPS, 4.3 RPG, 47.3 Field Target Percentage, 41.7 3-Point Percentage

Clyde Trapp (6-4, 203-pound senior guard)
7.0 ppg, 5.4 RPG, 2.6 apg, 40.3 field goal percentage, 34.5 3-point percentage

Bracket Tips: KenPom | Play the odds. Idiot guide

Rutgers vs Clemson Breakdown

Rutgers-Clemson can be a less-intimidating affair: both teams are no better than 75th in offensive ability, while each is in the top 20 nationally in defensive efficiency.

The Tigers in particular have only one player in Aamir Sims who scores more than 10 points per game on average. He is also the only player in the ACC to lead his team in games per game (13.3), rebounds per game (6.2) and assists per game (2.7), a feat he accomplished for the second consecutive year in 2021 . Pit 6–11 Miles Johnson (8.3 PSP, 8.7 RPG, 0.8 APG) against Sims to prevent him from dominating the post, but is later a skilled shooter off the court.

The Scarlet Knights have a fairly senior leadership on their team, including three players who receive more than 10 points per game: Ron Harper, Jacob Young and Geo Baker, whom Mike DeCourcy has a player to watch in the Midwest Region Was kept as The best of those players is Harper. The 6-6 junior guards lead the team with 15.4 points per game and are second on the team in 5.9 rebellions per game.

Clemson can warm up from 3-point land and make good defense, but it will need to be maintained against a more battle-tested Scarlett Knock team. Otherwise, you can beat 10 seed to 7 seed for the 12th straight tournament.

History of 10 vs 7 matchups in NCAA tournament

Fans who rely on history can see overall records between 10 and 7 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Overall, 7 seeds have an 85–55 advantage as the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. This may sound like a good reason to take on the Tigers (assuming you’re not really analyzing the matchup), but it means there’s almost a 40 percent chance that the Scarlet Knights win the matchup .

There is also recent history to consider: A 10 seed has won its opening round in every tournament since 2008, when Stephen Curry led Davidson to an incredible March Madness run. Each of them has won their opening games in the years 2019, 2010 and 2009, including 2011 -19 to 20-10. Curiously, Clemson has been beaten twice in that span.

Given below is a break of win 10 seeds have enjoyed 7 seeds in the last 10 tournaments: