South Carolina preview/game thread
Mississippi State (12-1, 0-0 SEC) at South Carolina (6-7, 1-0 SEC)
Tip : 8:00 PM CT TV: ESPNU
The Bulldogs are back in action against the Gamecocks after a 10 day break following a Dec. 29 103-81 win over BYU. South Carolina started their SEC slate with a dramatic 71-69 win over Florida that included a full-court pass and dunk by Chris Silva with 1.9 to go.
South Carolina Team Stats:
Points Per Game: 73.8
Points Per Game Allowed: 70.3
FGA-FGM: 331-783 (42.3%)
3FGA-3FGM: 87-278 (31.3%)
FTA-FTM: 211-296 (71.3%)
Common Opponents:
Wofford: MSU won 98-87; USC lost 81-61
Clemson: MSU won 82-71; USC lost 78-68
Leaders:
Chris Silva (Sr.): 12.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg
A.J. Lawson (Fr.): 13.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.2 apg
Hassani Gravett (Sr.): 10.8 ppg, 2.3 apg
jwells' Analysis
In one the surprises of opening weekend in the SEC, South Carolina was able to go into Florida and win 71-69. I understand Florida isn't a top 10 team but I thought the Gators were starting to figure things out after they thrashed Butler just one game before. While freshman AJ Lawson is leading the team in scoring, his production has dropped off dramatically as the competition has ramped up. He scored just 6 points against Florida and 8 against Clemson before that. That is understandable as it takes time to adjust to level he's now playing at.
With that being said, Chris Silva is the unquestioned leader of the team in my opinion. He has really stepped up his play lately and will be tough to handle in the paint. BYU's Joeli Childs was able to handle Holman and Ado in the paint for portions of the Bulldogs' win against the Cougars and the Dogs will need to step up the post defense against Silva. Gravett has been coming off the bench and had an up and down year to this point but did go off for 22 against the Gators on Saturday night. He has been around against the Dogs plenty and am confident Lamar and Nick will be able to hold him check. The rest of the team is very inconsistent offensively but are hard-nosed and scrappy on the defensive end, a staple of a Frank Martin team.
Overall, the Gamecocks have struggled to get it going this year but will look to build off their win over Florida. Going on the road in the SEC is always a significant task and tonight will be no different. If the Bulldogs can improve their defense and take good shots, Mississippi State should win. The key for us this year has been taking open shots and working hard enough to get those open shots. We have really seemed to have figured that out recently and the long stretches without a basket have dramatically reduced. Florida shot the ball very poorly from 3 on Saturday (9-31) and still had to blow a 2nd half double digit lead to lose. Barring a clunker of a shooting performance, I think the Dogs will go in and get the win, 75-68.
