CLEMSON — Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell was ecstatic for his players for making the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his 14-year tenure. Still, he can't forget how the Tigers missed out on March Madness a year ago despite finishing third in the ACC.

And now he's disappointed that only five ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament. This has led to his growing support for an expanded tournament.

"I don't want just a high-major tournament, (but) it could happen," Brownell said Sunday. "But because the teams are doing as well as they are and because this is such a meaningful thing for those kids to be a part of, I do think there is some rationale for (expanding the NCAA Tournament)," Brownell said.

Brownell said he hasn't thought about it a lot, but hates it for deserving teams and their players that are left out. He remembers how gut-wrenching it was for Hunter Tyson and his team to miss out last year. His comments came after Clemson made the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history.

The Tigers will face No. 11 New Mexico Friday (3:10 p.m. ET, truTV) in Memphis, Tennessee. They have reached the Elite 8 once (1980) and the Sweet 16 four times (1980, 1990, 1997, 2018).

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball: Brad Brownell would support March Madness expansion