Iowa vs. Clemson March Madness Injury Report: Tigers Lose Huge Name

It's hard not to favor the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament knowing Clemson will be without Carter Welling.

Welling, a 6'10'' forward, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during the Tigers' upset win over No. 19 North Carolina in the ACC Quarterfinals.

By the end of the night, the Tigers were able to confirm the ACL tear and ruled him out for the rest of the season.

No team ever wishes injuries on anyone, but obviously the Hawkeyes know they're going into this matchup with one less player to worry about. Welling was dominant all year long as he was second on the team with 10.2 points per game and led the way with 5.4 rebounds, so that's a big name to take out of the equation.

Clemson's Down to One Double-Digit Scorer

“We felt like we had to do it for Carter.”

Ace Buckner said @ClemsonMBB is playing for Carter Welling who tore his ACL earlier in the ACC Tournament 🧡 pic.twitter.com/Y4xM0DXBwC
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) March 13, 2026

Iowa's mission on defense got a whole lot clearer, and that's to defend RJ Godfrey. The senior forward stands 6'8'' and leads the way with 11.9 points per game. When it comes to rebounds, he was just a tick behind Welling at 5.3 boards per game, so at least Clemson knows they still have someone to clean up on the glass.

Regardless, first year head coach Ben McCollum was able to change his entire gameplan once Iowa figured out Clemson was their opponent. The Tigers' dominant duo is no longer taking the court in Tampa, though they still have some suitable players who will look to make a name for themselves.

Godrey will get a major chunk of Iowa's attention, and rightfully so, but McCollum and company still need to keep an eye on seniors Jestin Porter, Nick Davidson, Dillon Hunter, along with freshman Ace Buckner.

Iowa Heads to Tampa Completely Healthy

Come check out the Hawkeyes in FL! 😄

🏀 Open Practice
📍 Benchmark International Arena
⌚️ Today | 2-2:40 pm (ET) pic.twitter.com/392bDa2cxX
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) March 19, 2026

The Hawkeyes are set to play their first round matchup with a squad that has no major injuries to deal with. Ben's son, Peyton McCollum, suffered a season-ending foot injury back on January 8 though he didn't see a single minute anyways in his freshman campaign.

Other than that, Iowa is ready to go. The likes of Bennett Stirtz, Tavion Banks, among many others are ready to prove Iowa's tough end to the season isn't going to translate into the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa would love to bust some brackets, and that all starts in the first round as a team at 100% is looking to take down the Tigers who one could argue are nowhere near that. They lost one of their top two players, so now it's up for Iowa to exploit that and punch their ticket to the second round.

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