Mountaineers Face Battle-Tested Clemson as Charleston Classic Tips Off

The West Virginia Mountaineers (5–0) face Clemson in the opening round of the Charleston Classic.

“West Virginia’s really good,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I watched them a little bit against Pittsburgh. Defensively, they’re outstanding. They’re playing really well right now — with a lot of confidence.”

The Tigers (4–1) have earned NCAA Tournament bids in each of the last two seasons, the program’s first back-to-back appearances since 2007–11. Brownell, now in his 16th season at Clemson, has compiled a 296–197 record and has guided the Tigers to the 2024 Elite Eight, the 2018 Sweet 16, and the 2025, 2021, and 2011 NCAA Tournaments.

Clemson has been tested early this season, suffering its only loss on the road at Georgetown, 79–74. The Tigers bounced back Monday night with a 20-point win over Northern Iowa.

“I thought our guys were ready to play, which I’m really proud of, but I’m very disappointed in our second half — just like Morehead State, we just didn’t sustain,” Brownell said. “We’ve got to do better. We’re going to have very difficult games starting this weekend, and we’re going to have to play 40 minutes to win those kinds of games.”

Clemson returned three players from last season - point guard Dillon Hunter, forward RJ Godfrey, and redshirt freshman Ace Buckner.

Hunter entered his senior season with nine career starts before taking over the starting role at point guard. He’s averaging 6.6 points and 2.4 assists per game. Freshman combo guard Zac Foster leads the team with 18 assists.

Godfrey spent his first two seasons at Clemson, transferred to Georgia for one year, and returned to the Tigers this season. His senior campaign is paying off - he’s averaging career highs of 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. After starting the first four games, he came off the bench in the last outing and scored a season-high 16 points.

“I talked to him about it yesterday,” Brownell said. “I told him, ‘I want to try something different. It’s no big deal.’ He understands. It’s not going to affect his minutes. I said, ‘Just don’t foul so much,’ but he was terrific tonight. He was really ready to play — bouncy, finishing, playing with great pace. He did a little bit of everything.”

Buckner is second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game but has totaled just 14 points over the last two contests.

Utah Valley transfer Carter Welling leads the Tigers in scoring (11.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg). The senior forward has one double-double this season and has scored in double figures in all but one game - an 11-minute outing against Morehead State.

West Virginia holds a 5–1 advantage in the all-time series against Clemson.

The Mountaineers tip-off at 6:30 p.m. EST and the action will be televised on ESPNU.

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