Game Day: #8/9 Miami at Clemson

The Game
No. 8/9 Miami hits the road for the second of three-straight ACC games over nine days, facing Clemson on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. in Greenville, S.C., at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The Broadcasts
Catch the game on ACC Network with Mike Gleason and Mike Gminski on the call. Affiliates in Florida are: Fort Myers-Naples – CW; Gainesville – ABC; Jacksonville – IND; Miami-Fort Lauderdale – My Network TV; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne – FOX; Panama City – This TV; Tallahassee-Thomasville – FOX; Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota) – CW; West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce – CW.  
Also check out the game on 560 WQAM radio with Joe Zagacki, the Voice of the Hurricanes.

The Coach
Head coach Jim Larrañaga has a 574-385 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 104-51 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 43-30 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (as of Jan. 14)
AP: Miami -8, Clemson – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – 9, Clemson – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 10, Clemson – 76
NCAA RPI: Miami -17, Clemson – 138

The Weather
Game day temperatures: Coral Gables – 76/56; Greenville, S.C. – 58/32.

The Series
Miami is 10-12 in the all-time series against Clemson, which dates back to the 1955-56 season. The Canes are 6-3 at home against the Tigers, 2-6 on the road and 2-3 at neutral sites. UM is 4-1 against Clemson under Coach L. Miami won the last matchup with Clemson, defeating the Tigers, 56-45, on Feb. 8, 2015 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.

As a Ranked Team (Full list on page 6)
Since the rebirth of basketball at UM in 1985-86 …
– Miami is 14-7 when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 12-5 under Coach L when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 2-3 in true road games when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.

Tale of Two halves
In three ACC games, Miami has scored 24.0 ppg in the first half and 40.7 ppg in the second stanza. In those three games, the Canes are hitting just 34.7 percent from the field in the first half, then 47.6 percent in the second. At the line, Miami is 53.8 percent in the first 20 minutes and 80.5 percent in the second period. The Canes trail their opponents -1.3 ppg in the first period, and outscore their opponents +7.3 ppg in the second half.
After just 5.3 ppg on 25.0 percent shooting in the first half, Sheldon McClellan averages 13.3 ppg in the second, hitting 66.7 percent. Ja’Quan Newton also picks up his game, from 3.3 ppg in the first to 7.7 ppg in the second. Rodriguez ups his points from 2.7 to 6.0 ppg.

Last Year Against Clemson
Sheldon McClellan dropped 19 points on Clemson last season, hitting 6-8 shots from the field including 3-5 from long range. He was also 4-4 from the line. Ivan Cruz Uceda added 10 points, also hitting a trio of 3-pointers. Tonye Jekiri posted 17 rebounds and blocked five Tiger shots. Angel Rodriguez dished out five assists, tallied two steals and scored nine points.

Canes Have Stingy 3-Point Defense
In eight-straight games, Miami has held all of its opponents to less than 32.0 percent shooting in each game from long range, holding them to a combined 23.0 percent mark in that timeframe. In the first seven games, Miami averaged 41.4 percent 3-point defense. Opponents shot better than 32 percent from three in six of the first seven games. The Canes held in-state opponents Florida and Florida State to 8.3 percent and 10.5 percent from long range, respectively.

McClellan One of Top Shooting Guards in the Nation, Top in ACC
Senior guard Sheldon McClellan has posted the eighth-best shooting percentage (53.1%) in the country among guards, and has the top shooting percentage among guards in the ACC, according to stats on NCAA.org on Jan. 14. McClellan is currently on three national player of the year early-season watch lists: Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy for Men’s National Player of the Year and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

Miami Winning By Double Digits
In 12 of Miami’s 13 victories, the Canes have outscored their opponents by double digits. Nebraska is the only exception, as Miami won by only five points in overtime against the ‘Huskers. UM is outscoring opponents by 16.1 points per outing, and averaging 81.1 points per contest.

Taking Care of Business at the Line
Miami is outscoring its opponents by 16.3 points per game this season, and averaging 18.7 made free throws per game. Through 15 games, the Canes are connecting on 76.1 percent of shots at the line, and have hit at least 19 free throws in each game but four, with 12 vs. Florida State, 11 vs. Princeton, 10 at Virginia and seven made FTs against Northeastern.
The Canes are No. 51 in the country in free throws made, and No. 28 in fewest fouls.

Miami and ACC Teams in KenPom Rankings
Six ACC teams are in the top 18 of KenPom.com’s offensive efficiency ratings, as of Jan. 14. In adjusted efficiency: 1 North Carolina, 2 Pittsburgh, 3 Notre Dame, 5 Duke, 6 Virginia and 18 Miami.
As of Jan. 14, Miami is one of four ACC teams that rank in the KenPom top 10. Seven ACC teams are in the KenPom top 30.
Miami is one of three schools in the country in the top 15 of both offensive and defensive efficiency on Kenpom.com. Oklahoma is No. 7 offensively and No. 12 defensively, MIchigan State is No. 8/11 and Miami is No. 18/14.
Off. Efficiency – #18 – 115.6
Def. Efficiency – #14 – 92.9
Effective FG% – #15 – 55.8
Sheldon McClellan – True shooting % – #24 – 67.1
Offensive Rating – #11 – 133.4

Miami Holds the Lead
In Miami’s 13 victories, the Canes have led for all but 43 minutes and 22 seconds combined. The Canes trailed 19:49 to Syracuse, 12:00 vs. Princeton, 4:59 vs. UTRGV and 3:59 at Nebraska, added to 1:21 vs. Louisiana, 0:39 vs. Charleston, 0:22 vs. Mississippi State and 0:13 vs. Florida. Miami hasn’t trailed in five games – against Utah, Butler, Charlotte, La Salle and Florida State.
In Miami’s 13 wins, the Canes have only trailed after the first half against Syracuse, Nebraska and Princeton. The Cornhuskers held a lead with 3:39 left in overtime, the Orange led by one with 7:07 left in regulation and the Tigers led with 6:02 left in regulation.