Clemson Basketball Preview: Charleston Classic

Basketball season is in full swing, and this weekend is a huge opportunity for the Clemson men’s team to pick up quality non-conference wins in the 2025 Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, held at TD Arena in Charleston. The Tigers are paired with Georgia, West Virginia, and Xavier.

Clemson’s opening round matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers is a great test for Brad Brownell’s squad. No, this is not Bob Huggins’ “Press Virginia” defense that gave Big East and Big 12 teams nightmares for years, but the Mountaineers still have a pretty stout defense so far in 2025 under first-year head coach Ross Hodge. West Virginia ranks inside the top 30 nationally in defensive adjusted efficiency, effective field goal percentage, turnover percentage, and offensive rebounding allowed, according to KenPom’s scouting report. The peek behind the curtain, though, reveals that West Virginia has only faced one top-200 foe so far, but that was fellow ACC nemesis Pittsburgh, whom the Mountaineers blew out at home last week.

This will be the toughest test for West Virginia in its non-conference slate. The Mountaineers will need a big night from their stud guard, Honor Huff. The 5’10” guard from Brooklyn, NY, has by far been the best player for West Virginia, leading the team in scoring with 17.2 PPG. Senior forward Brenen Lorient is the big man on the glass, leading the team in rebounds (7.4 PPG) and blocks (1.8 PPG). Senior forward Treysen Eaglestaff is another player to get an eye on.

Offensively, the Mountaineers have not been as great as their defense. They’ve only hit the 75-point mark once this season, ranking 101st in KenPom’s offensive adjusted efficiency. For as good as WVU has been on the boards defensively, they’ve been equally as bad offensively, with a 27.8% offensive rebounding percentage, only 251st in the country (for context, Clemson ranks 30th nationally at a rate of 39.3%). Clemson’s defense will offer a huge test to the Mountaineer offense.

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Publish date : 2025-11-21 16:05:00

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