3/18/2021 football Edit

Myles Johnson and Cliff Omoruyi need to play big versus Clemson

Daniel Pierrot

Rutgers.Rivals.com

Clemson has a lot of similarities with many Big Ten teams. They play tough defense, take quality shots, and protect the ball. One thing they don’t have in common, with many Big Ten teams, is a lot of size. Instead, they often play multiple forwards, with little inside presence. They look to make the defense play on the perimeter and use their speed. So, on the interior, there is a great opportunity for Myles Johnson and Cliff Omoruyi to make their presence felt.

The player that will give Johnson the most problems will be Aamir Simms. Often, you will see Simms playing as Clemson’s de facto center, but he rarely spends much time in the paint. He will force Johnson to defend out on the perimeter, where Simms is a 41% three-point shooter. If he looks to be giving Johnson issues, don’t be surprised to see the quicker Omoruyi get some important minutes.

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On the other end, Simms is a strong player, but there is no reason that Johnson shouldn’t be able to dominate in the paint. He will have a reach advantage over Simms that could be upwards of 10”, including a much larger overall frame. Nearly every rebound should be challenged by Johnson, and you should expect to see him get a fair share of them. In addition to this, Omoruyi will also have a length advantage and he could have some opportunities to finish on the inside.

During the season, against other big centers, Simms has struggled. Against Jay Huff, a tall center on Virginia, Simms scored two points and had five rebounds, while making only one of his nine shot attempts. Against North Carolina, who have multiple big centers, he scored 10 points, but only made four out of his 10 shot attempts. However, in November, he was able to give Purdue trouble, when he scored 24 points and made multiple three-point shots.

This year, against teams with small centers, Myles Johnson has been up and down. Against a small Minnesota team, with no Liam Robbins, Johnson was able to pull down 15 rebounds. But, against a small Nebraska team, he was completely ineffective and had only four points and eight rebounds.

For Rutgers to win, they will need one of Johnson’s best performances. If he is able to impose his will on the small Clemson squad, and Omoruyi is able to give good supporting minutes, expect the team to be in a great position to advance to the round of 32. But, if Clemson is able to stretch Rutgers out and Simms is able to use his speed and shooting effectively, Rutgers could be in for a long night.