College basketball short takes

Clemson (11-6, 4-1 ACC) is rolling and finishing a three-game home stretch with its third consecutive ranked squad. If the Tigers can keep the magic going against Miami (13-2, 2-1), expectations will skyrocket. Unfortunately, you will have to tune into this one online — that's how unlikely this being a good game was at the start of the year.

1 Undefeated team remaining (SMU) after South Carolina finally fell at Alabama on Wednesday, one game after picking up its biggest victory of the season against Vanderbilt.

1 Indiana's in-conference defensive efficiency is ranked at the top of the Big Ten. No one saw that coming.

15 Victories for Northwestern (15-3, 3-2) this season, a total that has already matched the Wildcats' final sum from last season.

Clemson still has the flaws that the Gophers exploited in an 89-83 victory in late November, but right now the Tigers are the anti-Gophers, getting markedly better as the year goes on. Before the start to the season, Clemson was picked to land somewhere around the bottom four or five in the ACC, a prediction that looked spot-on when the Tigers lost to Massachusetts and Minnesota early on. But since the start of league play, Clemson has changed the story, reeling off four consecutive victories, most recently over No. 16 Louisville and No. 9 Duke. The Tigers have been one big factor in a crazy start to the ACC schedule.