CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson's Brad Brownell acknowledged the water took a lot longer to boil on his men's basketball program than he would've liked.

These days, Brownell believes the Tigers have a rising basketball brand that stands strong in the powerhouse Atlantic Coast Conference.

Brownell enters his 12th season at Clemson off the team's second NCAA Tournament appearance in the past four seasons. The Tigers went 16-8 and 10-6 in the ACC, the fourth time Brownell's program has won double-digit conference games. The Tigers had only accomplished that three other times in their first 56 seasons in the league.