When it matters, Clemson just finds a way
Clemson came out of the first half looking lost. Down 7 at the break, shooting 37% from the field and missing threes like they’d never seen a basketball before. You watched that first half and thought, okay, this is going to be one of those losses where they get run off the court. West Virginia was good. Honor Huff and Chance Moore were getting buckets. The Mountaineers had rhythm.
Then the second half happened. Clemson remembered how to play basketball. Not in some Hollywood comeback way—it was just fundamentally different. Better passes. Smarter cuts. And suddenly the threes were going down. Five of nine from deep in the second half after going 2 for 13 in the first.
The Tigers outscored West Virginia 45-35 after halftime. That’s just the plain truth of it.
But here’s the thing nobody should miss: Clemson won this game because West Virginia missed 7 free throws they shouldn’t have missed. The Mountaineers shot 63% from the line. That’s unacceptable in November, let alone tournament season. Clemson shot 79%. In a three-point game, that’s your margin of victory right there. You do the math.
Welling showed up when it mattered
Carter Welling didn’t do anything fancy. He wasn’t putting on a show for ESPN’s highlight reel. But in the last five minutes when West Virginia started clawing back, Welling was just… there. In the middle. Finishing. Rebounding. Making free throws.
Thirteen points. Eight boards. Nothing flashy about it. But Clemson scored 32 in the paint while West Virginia got 22. Ten point difference. Welling forced West Virginia’s guards to work around him. Made them uncomfortable. Made them make decisions they didn’t want to make.
That’s what a center is supposed to do.
The bench is the only thing Clemson can count on
Look at the bench scoring and you see the only real bright spot here. RJ Godfrey shot 6 for 8—75%, which is ridiculous. Efrem Johnson came in limited minutes and went 3 for 3 from the free throw line while adding 11 points.
Together, Godfrey and Johnson accounted for 25 of Clemson’s 27 bench points. West Virginia got 26 points off their bench, but it wasn’t distributed the same way. Clemson had multiple guys contributing. West Virginia was relying on role players to carry too much load.
In tournament basketball, that depth matters. A lot. That’s why Clemson won this game—not because the starting five was dominant, but because when they got tired or cold, the bench came in and didn’t flinch. That’s a real advantage that could win them games later.
What this win actually means
Clemson got out of here with a win, which is what matters in November. But let’s not pretend this was some incredible performance. They shot 32% from three for the game overall. Their first half was rough. They had 12 turnovers.
The next team they face in this tournament won’t shoot 63% from the free throw line. They won’t go 2 for 13 from deep and still lose. They’ll make Clemson execute for 40 minutes, not just 20.
Clemson showed they can adjust. They showed they have a reliable bench. They showed that Welling can be dependable when the game tightens up. But they also showed they need better shooting consistency and less sloppy first-half execution if they’re going to stack wins together.
It’s a start. Not a statement.
What’s next: Clemson will face either Georgia or Xavier in the next round of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic. Check the full tournament bracket to see how the rest of the field shapes up.
