Do you want the good news or the bad news first?
Well, here’s the good: Clemson has made it to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament following its 71-62 win over Wake Forest in the second round.
The bad news? Advancing cost the Tigers their starting center, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer: Carter Welling.
Going down with 1:58 left in the first half, Welling exited with his team comfortably up 14 points. The half ended 41-23, with Clemson up 18 points.
In his 12 minutes of action, Welling posted 5 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and was trending in the right direction when he hit the floor, clutching his right knee.
Set to take on UNC on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Welling’s presence will immediately be missed.
“I find it unlikely that he would play tomorrow, but I haven’t been told anything definitive. Obviously disappointing just because I thought we were playing really well tonight, and we’d love to be at full strength,” head coach Brad Brownell said.
But the long-term implications are grander: a top-10 seed soon awaits Clemson in the NCAA Tournament, with the first round set to commence on March 19.
For senior guard Dillon Hunter, watching Welling go down was reminiscent of his past. Last year, during the ACC tournament quarterfinals, Hunter suffered a season-ending wrist injury against SMU.
“Obviously, it’s a little of an emotional letdown for your team when we’re playing so hard to get to this time of year,” Brownell said after Hunter’s hand mishaps last year.
In almost the exact same situation a year later, Brownell is surely asking himself: is it a coincidence or a curse?
Welling, who returned in the second half on crutches, joins freshman guard Zac Foster on the list of players to have their season derailed by injury. Foster went down with a torn ACL in December and is set to make a return for the start of the 2026-27 season.
Undoubtedly irreplaceable, Welling will leave a 6-foot-11-sized hole in Brownell’s lineup. But at 6-foot-8, forward Chase Thompson was quick to step up to carry Welling’s load.
Averaging just 2 points per game before the clash with Wake Forest, Thompson was good for 9 points and three rebounds in the win over the Deacons, while also leading the team with a +14 plus-minus.
In another display of dispersed scoring, RJ Godfrey had an 11-point night, Ace Buckner added 8 points and another 8 points — all in the second half — came from Nick Davidson.
It was dominant all around. Clemson turned the ball over less, outrebounded Wake, scored more points off the bench and made more threes.
But having lost to this same squad just a few weeks ago, a win as satisfying as this can be masking. The 3-point troubles that have plagued the Tigers all year were back, with the Tigers shooting 32.3% from deep, compared to Wake’s 42.9%.
As with any win, there’s lots to celebrate and lots to improve on in the next game.
With the Tigers looking to replicate their dominance tonight against UNC and make a second consecutive appearance in the ACC tournament semifinals, nobody will be cheering louder than Welling.
