PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 12 seed McNeese State forced 13 turnovers and held No. 5 Clemson to 36.8 percent shooting from the field to beat the Tigers 69-67 in the first significant upset of this year’s NCAA men’s tournament.

With an aggressive style and no shortage of athleticism, McNeese harassed the Tigers into an 18-point halftime deficit and then held on to score the first tournament win in program history.

Taking advantage of Clemson’s putrid shooting and forcing the tempo with a deep rotation, McNeese led 23-8 with seven minutes left in the first half and went into the break ahead 31-13. At that point, the Tigers were outscored by McNeese guard Brandon Murray, who had 14 points at halftime and finished with a team-high 21 points.

The Tigers made just 5 of 24 attempts from the field in the first half, including a stunning 1 of 15 from 3-point range. These misfires were a carryover from the final three games of the regular season, which saw Clemson go a combined 13 of 63 from deep.

This horror show continued coming out of the locker room. Clemson drew within 15 points at 31-16 a minute and a half into second half but McNeese quickly pulled ahead 40-16 with 16:14 left. The Tigers trimmed that lead to 51-38 with 6:10 to play and then to single digits at 58-49 with 2:40 left but were unable to get closer than eight points.

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In addition to Murray, McNeese guard Christian Shumate had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eight Cowboys played at least 17 minutes, showcasing one of the deepest benches in this year’s field. Every McNeese player that played in at least 20 games this season averaged at least 13.9 minutes per game.

Senior guard Jaeden Zackery led Clemson with 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting. After averaging a combined 29.2 points per game during the regular season, starters Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin were scoreless in the first half. Hunter finished with 21 points and was part of furious rally that fell just short. Schieffelin had 1 point.

This is the 56th time a No. 12 seed has knocked off a No. 5 seed since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. No. 12 seeds have won at least one first-round game in 34 of the past 40 tournaments. The exceptions are the 1988, 2000, 2007, 2015, 2018 and 2023 tournaments.

The Cowboys’ upset comes as second-year coach Will Wade is poised to become the next coach at North Carolina State. Wade, 42, was previously the coach at LSU, where he was fired in March 2022 following an NCAA investigation into widespread recruiting violations. Wade confirmed at Wednesday’s media availability that his representatives had spoken with N.C. State and that he’d discussed the opportunity with his team.

For Clemson, the opening-round exit comes on the heels of the most successful regular season in program history. The Tigers won a school-record 27 games overall and a record 18 games in ACC play, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament before losing to Louisville.

Last year’s team went 21-11 during the regular season and finished in a fifth-place tie in the ACC standings before rolling off three tournament wins as a No. 6 seed to reach the program’s second Elite Eight.

Clemson’s loss deals another blow to the gloomy reputation of the ACC, which sent just four teams into this year’s tournament field in Clemson, No. 1 Duke, No. 8 Louisville and No. 11 North Carolina. While the Tar Heels advanced past No. 11 San Diego State in the First Four, the Cardinals lost 89-75 to No. 9 Creighton earlier on Thursday afternoon. The Blue Devils meet No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s on Friday.