The coolest part about Gardner-Webb is that they aren’t just the Bulldogs, they’re the Runnin’ Bulldogs. That beats UGA any day in my book.
Unfortunately for these Bulldogs, that’s about where the notable
facts end for a team that finished a dismal 11-20 last year in the Big South Conference. Much like Brad Brownell, second-year head coach Jeremy Luther faces the daunting challenge of replacing most of his squad with new faces, including the top six scorers from their 2024 team.
Expectations are certainly not high for this group, picked to finish just eighth in the Big South preseason poll. They opened their 2025 season with an acceptable 87-60 loss to Minnesota and now face a brand-new Clemson team hot off a blazing 50-point tune-up victory. If the Runnin’ Bulldogs are to start going fast this year, they likely will have to wait until after the Clemson game to get any real momentum.
For Clemson, anything less than another dominant performance (though likely not nearly as one-sided as the opener) will be disappointing. Look for lots of Tigers to be involved in the scoring again, as Brownell aims to get as much data on his guys as possible. Ace Buckner led Clemson in scoring off the bench in the season opener with 18 points. We’ve seen one-off breakouts so we’ll be watching to see how sustainable the performance was. UVU transfer Carter Welling showed his above-the-rim athleticism, but also had some rust on his shooting, perhaps from an offseason foot injury. Seeing him shake that off would be encouraging.
Brad is cooking up something exciting for the 2025 Clemson squad, and the next step is Friday night against Gardner-Webb. Tip-off will be at 7 PM EST in Littlejohn Coliseum and will be aired on the ACC Network.
