Miami lost its sixth straight game, 65-55 to Clemson in their ACC opener on Saturday. The loss was the 13th consecutive for Miami to a Power Conference opponent and 11 straight in the ACC. The game started off sluggish for both teams. Clemson led 12-1 before Miami made a field goal with 12:30 remaining in the first half.
Miami missed its first nine shots. Miami made 11 of its last 18 shots in the first half while holding Clemson to 32.3 percent from the floor. The difference was Clemson made five of its 14 three-point attempts and Miami was only one of 11 from beyond the arc.
Miami eventually took a 22-20 lead in the first half before Clemson regained the advantage at 25-22 and led 25-24 at halftime. The Hurricanes took their biggest lead 37-33 early in the second half. Clemson went on a 14-6 run to flip their advantage to four in their favor and never trailed again.
Miami was hindered by Nijel Pack missing all seven of his field goal attempts, all three-point shots, to go scoreless with three turnovers in 31 minutes. Freshman Jalil Bethea led Miami with 12 points. Center Lynn Kidd was the only other Miami player in double figures with 1 and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Final: Clemson 65, Miami 55
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Miami shot 41.1 percent for the game but made just four of its 25 three-point attempts. Clemson shot 39.7 percent and made nine of their 27 three-point attempts. Ian Schieffelin who was named preseason All-ACC had 15 points and led Clemson with 12 rebounds. Chase Hunter led Clemson with 18 points and Viktor Schieffelin had 12.
Miami faces the task of ending their six-game losing streak versus Tenneesse who is expected to ascend to the top-ranked team in the national polls on Monday. Number one Kansas and second-ranked Auburn both lost this week.