Clemson’s first look at its 2026-27 men’s basketball roster came with a little drama and a lot of useful answers.
The Tigers edged Georgia 80-78 in an exhibition Friday night at Littlejohn Coliseum, and the finish belonged to Sanford transfer Dylan Faulkner. After Georgia tied the game late, Faulkner went to the post, secured his own miss and finished it off as time expired to seal the win for Clemson.
Faulkner was the clearest headline from the night. In just 11 first-half minutes, he piled up 15 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists, and he did most of his damage by going straight at the rim and drawing contact. He hit nine free throws in the victory and never looked shy about making himself the focal point inside.
By the end of the game, he had turned in a full-night line of 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. That’s the kind of debut Clemson needed from a frontcourt transfer, especially with Carter Welling still working back from the torn ACL he suffered in March.
Faulkner wasn’t the only underclassman who made a case for a bigger role. Clemson’s offseason work to keep young pieces in the program showed up on Friday, with wings Dallas Thomas and Chase Thompson both standing out in their own ways.
Thomas did his best work after halftime, scoring a team-high 15 second-half points while knocking down two three-pointers and looking like a real wing option for this season. Thompson added a team-high seven rebounds and kept popping up with the kind of winning plays that show up in the margins of close games.
Sophomore Trent Steinour also gave Clemson something useful in limited minutes. He scored three points, but the bigger takeaway was on the glass, where he pulled down five rebounds and grabbed three on the offensive end. With Welling unavailable, that kind of frontcourt activity matters.
There was one area Clemson will want to clean up quickly: the perimeter shooting. The Tigers hit just six of 28 from beyond the arc, a 21.4% clip that stuck out in the box score and on the floor.
Still, even in an exhibition, there were signs of what the Tigers can become. Thomas and Notre Dame transfer Cole Certa were the only Clemson players to make multiple threes, and Certa finished with three makes from deep. That’s the kind of shooting profile Clemson is clearly hoping to build around as the season unfolds.
The Tigers will open their official season on Nov. 2 at Littlejohn Coliseum against Stetson. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Tigertown.
In Other News...
Clemson Finally Gets A Needed Back After A Brutal Rehab Journey
Jay Haynes finally got back on the field for Clemson against Charleston Southern, making his first appearance since the knee injury he suffered in the 2024 ACC Championship Game. The road back was longer than anyone wanted, with setbacks stretching out the rehab process, but he stayed connected to the program through it all and had C.J. Spiller in his corner as he worked through the recovery.
For Clemson, the timing mattered as much as the return itself. The Tigers have been dealing with injuries in the running back room, and Dabo Swinney had already been open about hoping Haynes could give the offense another option once he was ready. Now the question is less about whether he can get back on the field and more about how quickly he can become part of the rotation again. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Brownell Faces Two Early Clemson Questions That Could Define Season
Clemson is heading into the 2026-27 season with a lot of moving parts, and Brad Brownell does not have the luxury of easing into it. The Tigers have a largely new roster to sort through, with eligibility questions in the backcourt and the absence of Carter Welling as he continues to recover from an ACL injury, all while the team tries to get settled before the regular season begins Nov. 2.
The two exhibition games on the schedule will give Brownell his first real look at how quickly this group can come together, and that matters in a league as demanding as the ACC. With so much turnover and so little time to build chemistry, Clemson's early progress could end up shaping how competitive it can be once the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces A Primetime ACC Test That Could Define Its Season
Clemson gets another spotlight opportunity Saturday night when Virginia Tech comes to town for a primetime ACC matchup that could say a lot about where the Tigers stand in the league race. The setting alone gives the game extra weight, and the records suggest a competitive one, with Clemson sitting at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play while the Hokies arrive at 5-2.
The oddsmakers expect little separation, either, with Clemson installed as a 2.5-point favorite in a nationally televised game on ESPN. For a Tigers team trying to keep pace in the ACC, it is the kind of night that can sharpen the seasons direction in a hurry, especially against a Virginia Tech team that has already shown it can make things interesting. [Read more 🡒]