PRINCETON, NJ – The Gazelle Group has officially announced the pairings for the 5th…th annual Sunshine Slam on Thursday morning.
San Francisco will face Clemson in the first round of the Beach Tournaments on Monday, November 25th at 3:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. EST). Following the results of the first round games, the Dons will then face Fordham or Penn State on Tuesday, November 26th. The tournament will be played at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The format for the Sunshine Slam consists of two semifinal round matches in each group on November 25 and one championship and consolation match in each group on November 26. Champions will be crowned for both the Beach and Ocean groups and All-Tournament teams will be announced for both groups.
In addition to the neutral-ground games at the Ocean Center, the Sunshine Slam features four on-campus games. Each team from the Beach Bracket will host a team from the Ocean Bracket prior to the event.
Last season, Clemson enjoyed a historic season on the court as the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history (1980, 2024). Notably, Clemson beat New Mexico (No. 11), Baylor (No. 3) and Arizona (No. 2) before losing to Alabama (No. 4) 89-82 in the Elite Eight.
With an overall record of 24-12 entering the 2023-24 season, the second-most wins in school history, Clemson extended head coach Brad Brownell’s contract this offseason through 2029. In total, Clemson defeated nine NCAA Tournament teams last year — six in the regular season and three in the tournament, the most in a season in school history. Seven of the nine wins came on the road, the most in a season in school history.
This year, Clemson returns six scholarship players and 40.2 percent of its points from last year’s team, including All-West Regional Team honorees Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin.
For San Francisco, the Green-Gold finished the 2023-24 season 23-11, including 11-5 in the conference. USF surpassed the 20+ win mark for the seventh consecutive season (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season) and achieved 10+ conference wins for the second time in three seasons. Third-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen will look to maintain the momentum he has built after leading the Dons to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament for the third consecutive year and also helping San Francisco earn selection to the 2024 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) last season.
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men’s basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
