Miami Hurricanes Basketball: McClellan Pushes Miami Past Florida in 66-55 Victory

In last season’s win over Florida, the Miami Hurricanes needed a mini-miracle from Angel Rodriguez to pull out the victory. This season’s win over the Gators however, was a bit simpler and it was Sheldon McClellan this time who stole the show.

Using 24 points from the Houston, TX native and a boost from a sold-out BankUnited Center, the Miami Hurricanes defeated Florida 66-55 for their second consecutive victory over their rivals from Gainesville.

“We were all amped up for this game because we knew it was a rivalry game and we knew they would come out with a strong effort after we beat them last year,” Angel Rodriguez said. “Everybody just stuck together and we were able to get the win.”

From the start, the electricity in the BUC was phenomenal as the school announced it’s ninth-sellout in program history. With almost every seat in the arena filled, the Hurricanes didn’t disappoint.

Using the energy from the crowd, Miami got off to a frenetic start as they opened the game on a 14-7 run behind phenomenal play from Angel Rodriguez. It wasn’t as ridiculous as last year’s ending to the Florida game, but the redshirt senior point guard played in a very patient style in the first half and was able to knock down open shots as well as distribute and find his teammates for good looks.

Another bright spot from the tip was Tonye Jekiri who looked lively on the boards against Florida’s powerful center John Egbunu. While Egbunu did have ten first-half points, Jekiri was able to bring down four offensive rebounds.

With 5:37 left in the first half though, Egbunu posted up Jekiri and Miami’s seven-footer fell awkwardly to the floor, forcing him to leave the game.  With Jekiri absent, it was McClellan who stepped up to lead an 8-0 run that gave the Canes a 33-24 lead heading into the break.

We’ve talked all season about Miami’s balanced attack, but it was the stars that had to do all the scoring tonight. In the first half, McClellan finished with 12 points, while Rodriguez finished with 10 points and that was the reason the Canes led at the half.

Jekiri was able to eventually re-enter the game in the second half and had a huge impact as Ebuka Izundu just didn’t look ready in his brief playing time against the Gators. With that backline solidified, McClellan used the type of aggressiveness we all wanted to see from him this season and boy did it pay off.

McClellan scored 12 second-half points to give him 24 on the night and his big three with 6:37 left to put the Canes up 56-44 was the real dagger that ended the Gators’ hopes. The Texas transfer had been a bit reluctant to attack in every game last season, but it’s clear this season that he’s a changed player.

“I’m always looking for my shot,” Sheldon McClellan said of his aggressiveness this year. “I learned I needed to change from last year and tonight I just took what the defense gave me and they were collapsing a lot so I felt I could get into my jump shot going pretty easily in this game.

With McClellan starting to pull the Canes away the Gators continued to utilize a 2-2-1 press, but the Hurricanes were able to take care of the ball all night and their aggressiveness led to the team going 16-of-20 from the free throw line in the second half.

As the game ended, the crowd chanted “just like football,” as the Gators fans trudged out of the BankUnited Center to the sound of a 66-55 defeat to the Canes. The chant was even more appropriate with new football coach Mark Richt in attendance, but while the football team has new hopes for winning down the line, this basketball team has got what it takes to win right now.

Perhaps the only negative on the night was the lack of bench scoring which saw just three points come from the reserves, but when looking at that, it makes the 11-point win over a solid Florida team even more impressive.

The win also gave the Canes another quality win to add to their already spectacular resume. Including the victory over the Gators, Miami has already notched three wins over the KenPom Top 40. With a stacked ACC slate ahead, the chance to improve that resume will present itself almost every night.

The future does look bright for this team, but tonight was another monumental day for this newly-ignited Miami basketball program. They sold out the BUC,they defeated Florida for the second straight year and they continued on their path of what could be a magical season.

“The atmosphere was sensational,” Coach Jim Larranaga said after the game. “Miami, FSU and UF are always competing for everything so I knew the students would be great tonight and I thought we came out extremely focused.”

With final exams looming for the players, they’ll have an 11-day break to soak in the win and the atmosphere that their success created on Tuesday night. This team doesn’t need miracles any more because guess what, this team is just really damn good.