Dillon Hunter injury update: Brad Brownell reportedly reveals grim diagnosis for Clemson guard

Clemson won their quarterfinal during the ACC Tournament on Thursday. However, the Tigers did take a loss in terms of the status now of Dillon Hunter.

Per Jeff Goodman from The Field of 68, Brad Brownell told them that Hunter suffered a broken hand in the 57-54 win for No. 3 Clemson over No. 6 SMU. That will now end his season for the Tigers with them having just started their postseason.

“Clemson’s Dillon Hunter broke his hand in yesterday’s game and is out for the rest of the season, Brad Brownell told @TheFieldOf68,” Goodman tweeted on Friday morning. That confirmed comments from the night before.

This was consistent with what Brownell thought about Hunter’s injury during his postgame press conference. It’s something that will affect how they play considering what Hunter provided on both ends but will also now be a chance now for some younger players to try to contribute in the tournaments for the Tigers.

“Yeah, um, yeah, I don’t think it’s good. I think he probably broke his hand,” Brownell said last night. “Um, so, yeah, it wasn’t good and obviously it’s a little bit of an emotional letdown for your team when, you know, the guy has been playing so hard. You get to this time of year, the time of year you want to play and go sideways.”

“You know, Dillon is like the ultimate glue-guy for us. Like, he’s got an unbelievable assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s a really good defender, both on and off the ball. Um, facilitator and, you know, he doesn’t really need to score. He’ll shoot an open shot but he doesn’t. So he just kind of, the game – and he’s experienced. I should say that too. So, um, yeah, it’s a little harder,” Brownell said. “Obviously, Del Jones is a freshman. He’s going to get a few more minutes and, you know, he’s kind of a jitterbug guard that’s learning how to play, gives you great energy and then Jake Heidbreder is a little bit more of a three-point shooter. And, but they don’t play like Dillon and so it’s different and uh, you know, something we’re going to have to adjust with going forward. But, certainly, it will be a great opportunity for those other guys on our team.”

Hunter, a junior, is the sixth-man for Clemson as their top scorer off the bench. He has had a career-best season in averaging 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and just under a steal a game for them as a reserve.

Hunter is also the younger brother of Chase Hunter, who is also on the roster. Chase Hunter, a selection to the All-ACC First Team, is also having a career-best season as their leading scorer at 16.2 points (47.4% FG, 40.9% 3PT), 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals.

This is a pretty notable loss for Clemson going into their semifinal tonight in the ACC Tournament and ahead of them being a high seed during the NCAA Tournament. They’ll have to adjust on the fly, though, to contend over the next three weeks.

2025 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: Updated matchups, results, schedule, TV

The teams have tipped off this week in the bracket for the 2025 ACC Tournament. With that, here’s the latest updated results so far from Charlotte:

ACC Basketball Tournament bracket, schedule, TV

Round 1 (March 11th)

Game 1: No. 12 Notre Dame 55, No. 13 Pittsburgh 54

Game 2: No. 15 California 82, No. 10 Virginia Tech 73 (2OT)

Game 3: No. 14 Syracuse 66, No. 11 Florida State 62

Round 2 (March 12th)

Game 4: No. 8 Georgia Tech 66, No. 9 Virginia 60

Game 5: No. 5 North Carolina 76, No. 12 Notre Dame 56

Game 6: No. 7 Stanford 78, No. 15 California 73

Game 7: No. 6 SMU 73, No. 14 Syracuse 53

Quarterfinals (March 13th)

Game 8: No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 Georgia Tech 70

Game 9: No. 5 North Carolina 68, No. 4 Wake Forest 59

Game 10: No. 2 Louisville 75, No. 7 Stanford 73

Game 11: No. 3 Clemson 57, No. 6 SMU 54

Semifinals (March 14th)

Game 12: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 North Carolina
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN/ESPN2

Game 13: No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 3 Clemson
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN/ESPN2

ACC Tournament Championship (March 15th)

Game 14: Winner of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 13
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN