Currently, Clemson basketball is in sole possession of second place in the ACC. Six teams are tied with the Tigers in the loss column, and one of them is Saturday’s opponent—the Miami Hurricanes.
Here are some things to watch for during a big game for both teams in Greenville today:
- Get ready for ball screens.
One thing epitomizes Jim Larranaga’s tenure at Miami: the ball screen. High ball screens trigger just about everything the Hurricanes will do offensively. Larranaga uses them to require help defenders to free up shooters and to set up pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop opportunities for skilled bigs.
Angel Rodriguez will be the benefactor of all those ball screens. The Kansas State transfer has maneuverability with the ball in his hands and can make all kinds of plays to score for himself or set up his teammates. His creativity is a primary reason why four Canes average double figures in scoring, including Rodriguez.
Whoever guards him—Avry Holmes, Jordan Roper, or some combination—will likely be in for a bumpy ride. Clemson will have to either switch and deal with mismatches or rely on its bigs to stop the flow of traffic by hedging and recovering.
- Sheldon McClellan is a handful.
The former Texas standout is extremely efficient on the offensive end of the floor. He leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 16.1 points per game, but he isn’t overbearing in terms of his possession usage.
McClellan is a confident shooter, making just under 40 percent of his three-point attempts this season. He also gets to the free throw line more than five times per game and is one of the nation’s top foul shooters.
Dealing with both Rodriguez and McClellan is difficult for a team that is not dialed in on defense. Clemson will be stretched on the perimeter in its efforts to keep both players in check.
- Clemson has to keep Miami off of the free throw line.
In its five ACC games, the Tigers have allowed only 14.8 free throw attempts per game. That includes a mere seven attempts for a Duke team that ranked among the nation’s best at getting to the line. Clemson will need that kind of effort on defense in this game, as well.
For the season, the Tigers rank ninth in the country in opponents’ free throw rate. This is especially impressive considering how hard Brad Brownell’s teams play on defense and how many minutes the team’s starters have played.
Miami shoots 76.1 percent from the charity stripe, second-best in the conference. There really aren’t any poor free throw shooters that see time on the floor, so fouling anyone is a dangerous errand. Clemson has to hope its high-caliber discipline on defense continues.
- This game could be won or lost at the rim.
Both of these teams play larger-than-average lineups, which should prove interesting when Miami has the basketball. Larranaga’s starting group boasts four guards, but the bench has significant size. The only post presence in that starting group is senior center Tonye Jekiri, who averages 8.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Because the Hurricanes like to go bigger throughout the course of the game, they rarely get their shots blocked. They rank sixth in the country in opponents’ block rate. This is in direct contrast to Clemson, which ranks fourth in block rate and boasts several effective shot-blockers inside.
Something’s got to give here, especially in the matchup between Jekiri and Landry Nnoko inside. It will be interesting to see if Clemson can do its fair share of shot-altering or if the Canes are able to get whatever shots they want.
- The historical nature of this game for Clemson is sneaky good.
With the Tigers playing so well, this feels like just another stiff test in the moment. However, Clemson has a shot to do something that has never been done in the history of its program with a win over Miami.
The Hurricanes represent Clemson’s third consecutive ranked opponent. With wins over Louisville and Duke in the rear view mirror, Clemson can win three straight contests against ranked foes for the first time ever. Rarely does such an opportunity present itself, and ever more rarely does a team take full advantage.
This could be quite a day to cap off quite a week for the Tigers.
God Bless!
WQ