The 68th ACC Basketball Tournament tipped off this Tuesday after the 15-team seeded bracket became finalized this past weekend. The games are being played in Greensboro, N.C., at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Clemson (16-6, 10-6) is the No. 5 seed of the tournament after falling a half-game short of the fourth seed to Georgia Tech (15-8, 11-6). This is partially due to two of Clemson’s ACC games being canceled due to COVID-19. Since the Tigers have the No. 5 seed, they received a first-round bye and will play No. 13 seed Miami (8-16, 4-15) after Miami beat No. 12 seed Pittsburgh (10-11, 6-10) 79-73 in the first round.
Clemson has played Miami twice this season and won both games, by scores of 66-65 and 66-58. Clemson has had success against Miami due to its ability to score from three and off assists, which the Tigers usually struggle with. Oddly, Clemson has conceded more points in both games against Miami than their opponent’s points per game average (55.9). For Clemson to beat Miami a third time, the Tigers will need to stop Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong, continue their high-percentage 3-point shooting and win the rebounding battle.
In each of the regular season matchups, Wong scored at will, which helped him be Miami’s leading scorer in both contests after scoring 13 points in the first game and 28 points in the second. Whether it is through off-ball pressure or double teaming, Clemson needs to do all it can to limit Wong’s opportunities on offense. This will make Miami need to find another way to score on offense, which seems out of reach for the ‘Canes. A player to keep an eye on as the Clemson defense attempts to limit Wong is Sophomore guard Nick Honor, who is averaging a team-high 1.3 steals per game.
Next, Clemson needs to continue its high-percentage 3-point shooting against Miami (46.45% in two games), especially if the Tigers are unable to stop Wong. In five of Clemson’s six losses, the Tigers had a 3-point percentage that was 40% or less. Therefore, it is important for Clemson to continue having success shooting from the perimeter.
Finally, Clemson needs to focus on winning the rebounding battle. In both games, the Tigers have lost the battle to Miami by a total of 67-52. Clemson needs to make sure its big men are in the right positions to maximize rebounds, especially offensively, to allow for second-chance points.
If the Tigers can accomplish all three of these goals, they will be well on their way to advancing to the quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Georgia Tech. Clemson’s game against Miami is on Wednesday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m.
