Cocks Fight Hard But Come Up Short

Game Stats

When South Carolina (14-13, 5-8) traveled to Lexington, Ky to take on the Wildcats, everyone had predicted a blowout, a revenge beat down for the lone loss on the Kentucky (27-1, 12-1) record.  While the 82-61 victory by John Calipari's team would appear to be a blowout, it was anything but that.  Fans don't like to talk about morale victories and this was not one, but the USC Basketball Team played extremely hard and competed with the team most believe will win the national championship.  A team with an estimated 4-5 future NBA players.

After jumping out to a 11-2 lead in the first two and a half minutes, Kentucky and its' fans could smell an embarrassing route of the visiting team.  But a nice 7-2 run over the next two minutes narrowed the lead to 13-9 and the scrappy competitive game was on.  For the rest of the game, Kentucky, led by John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson could not gain more than an 8 point lead for the next ten minutes.  In the final five minutes of the half, the Wildcat size and strength began to take over.  With Kentucky shooting poorly from the outside (3-11 from 3-Pt range) they began to pound the glass and penetrate to grind points in closing out the first half.  After establishing a 14 point lead at the 1:31 mark, no one could score until SEC scoring leader Devan Downey scored his 9th point on a long 30-foot shot to end the first half with Kentucky leading 37-26.  In the second half Devan would add 17 more points shooting 9-25 and 3-9 from the arc.

The tenacity and competitive spirit of USC Head Coach Darrin Horn and Downey would display itself again in the second half, when Kentucky jumped out to a 16 point lead just under two minutes into the half.  But over the next nine minutes the Gamecocks would get as close as 6 points before the size, speed and talent of Kentucky would take advantage in the post and in transition, and with 9:18 to go USC would watch its efforts become overshadowed by the gradual growth of a small double digit lead between 10-15 points over that period.  With just under three minutes and the score 69-59 Kentucky, Patterson, who finished with a team high 23 points, to go with his 8 rebounds, grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked to start the run for the final margin of victory.

USC has a few positives to take from this loss, forcing John Wall into 6 turnovers, Wall was held to 12 points on 4-15 shooting, scoring on 10 assisted plays, after averaging less than 10 assists during SEC play and holding Kentucky to only 10 fast break points.  Overall, the Gamecocks did not back down, nor did they allow various runs during most of the game to discourage their level of effort against a superior ball club.  Concerns will obviously be noted in the post scoring where Kentucky scored 56 of its' total 82 points in the paint.  South Carolina was able to generate 30 of its' 61 points in the paint on penetration and passing, along with stick backs from offensive rebounds.  The Wildcats had a decisive advantage at the free throw line due to post play, going 15-20 from the line and the Gamecocks were 5-7, with Downey going 5-5 from the charity stripe.  No bench scoring for the Gamecocks was obviously disappointing to Coach Horn.

Lakeem Jackson took two ill-advised shots from the perimeter, but otherwise was near perfect scoring aggressively on 8-11 shooting for 16 points (4 rebs, 3 stls, 2 asts & 1 blk), while Sam Muldrow was effective earlier in the game and finished with 10 points (5-11), 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
 

It is now South Carolina's turn to attempt a home court beat down, returning home to play Mississippi State at the Colonial Life Arena, where the Gamecocks have played their best basketball all year, winning 11 of its total 14 victories in this arena.

USC Signee Falls Short In Playoffs To Lexington

Full Game Story        Playoff Bracket

In Devan Downey-like fashion, South Carolina 5'10" signee Bruce Ellington of Berkeley (14-11) single handily shot his team into contention against highly ranked Lexington (23-5) as he scored 25 second half points to finish with 33, as Lexington needed clutch free throw shooting from Sophomore sensation Shaq Roland, who sank two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime, 72-72 .

The overtime became the "Shaq Roland Show" as Lexington turned the game into a rout with a 15-0 run to open the overtime.  Roland finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.  But Roland was not alone as Lexington received a double-double from Adrian Wigfall (18pts/10rebs) and David Burns scored 23 points for the Wildcats coached by Bailey Harris, who has 14 twenty-win seasons in 23 years, two 4A state championship in four trips to the season finale. 

South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn and staff were on hand at the Wildcat gymnasium to watch his future point guard Ellington, along with a few USC players.  Ellington was impressive down the stretch, but the opposing team effort, a pesky zone and depth was so familiar to his future coach who has had to endure similar concerns.  Hopefully Ellington will have more help by the time he transforms his skill sets to the SEC level at South Carolina.

Ellington did get double digit scoring assistance from R.J. Robinson 12 pts., Marcus Wiggs 11pts., and D.J. Harrison 11pts.

Free Throws Solve Home Court Disadvantage For Vols

Game Stats       Highlights     Post-Game Interview

The game was played in Colonial Life Arena, a definite advantage for the Gamecocks on most game days, but for Tennessee (20-6, 8-4) a 63-55 winner over South Carolina (14-12, 5-7) Saturday, it was just a matter of taking advantage of what was given to them.  After trailing or playing close for 33 minutes of the ball game, the Vols continued to grind out plays, loose balls and opportunities in the middle of the lane to score or get to the free throw line, where they outscored the home team by 9 points in an 8-point game.  In a game of 13 lead changes, 6 ties and a 10-19 turnover advantage for the host squad, one would think this was a formula for a home court victory.  But in the end it would be the repeat of the decisive free throw advantage that teams have shown in each of the three consecutive losses by the Gamecocks that would make the actual difference, in lieu of poor shooting.

The game overall was not pretty for either team or its stars.  Devan Downey was well under his 23 point average with 15 points on 4-18 shooting and Wayne Chism fell below his 17 point conference average with 11 points on 4-6 shooting.  #20 Tennessee started the game with 8 turnovers in the first 8 minutes of play.  South Carolina on the other hand rarely converted those turnovers in to points and could only establish a 2 point lead 11-9 by the second media timeout.  By halftime the Gamecocks held a 28-24 lead with 8 points off turnovers and 7 points on second chance opportunities, shooting only 33% (11-33 and 4-14 from 3-pt).  The Vols shot 45% (9-20, 2-7) for the same ugly period but managed to shoot 4-8 from the charity stripe versus South Carolina 2-4, to stay close with all the turnovers.

In the second half it was more of the same, with South Carolina continuing to concentrate on the perimeter and Tennessee grinding to push the ball in the paint and take only open perimeter shots, however the results began to shift late in the half as the Gamecocks were able to hold the lead or stay within 3 points for nearly 13 minutes, before the Vols began to take over.  Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl was able to counter the game plan of USC Head Coach Darrin Horn's aggressive match-up zone, with running offensive sets that constantly flashed players to the middle of the lane with quick feeds to attack the zone from the middle to score or interior pass to the blocks.  This periodically left Bobby Maze open to hit a few key jump shots to establish some balance in a game where both teams shot poorly from the perimeter.  The difference?  The Vols used the paint in the second half to shoot 52.4% (11-21, 2-4), while the Cocks continued to struggle at 30% (9-30, 1-12).  The Vols were 15-24 from the free throw line during the final period, getting there by concentrating on the inside, shooting only 4 long range shots.  The Gamecocks were fouled less often obviously taking 12 long range perimeter shots and was 8-11 (72%) from the charity stripe in the second half.

Tennessee really only led in three key statistical areas, "shooting percentage" 48.8% versus 31.7%, "points in the paint" 32-22 and "assists" 13-3.  South Carolina led in "free throw shooting percentage" 66.7% against 59.4%, "offensive rebounds" 13-10, "second chance points" 12-9.  With a cold perimeter afternoon, the home team had become the disadvantaged squad as the odds of percentages in basketball took over, the high percentage shot either went in or generated foul shot opportunities for Tennessee and the low percentage shot failed to fall for South Carolina and rarely did they get to the foul line.   

The Garnet Army was again alive and well represented, but in the end they could not will their basketball heroes to victory, as Tennessee countered a sloppy game with grinding and getting to the free stripe twice as many times as the host team.  South Carolina will only wonder what could have been if the free throw percentage advantage could have been matched with equal trips to the line.  Only three South Carolina players even shot free throws, Downey, Raley-Ross and Austin Steed (1-2). 

The free throw difference, along with a 20-3 Tennessee bench scoring difference assisted the Vols in grinding out a late 17-3 run that virtually rendered the game a Tennessee victory.

Brandis Raley-Ross continued his scoring support and balanced play, as the senior guard scored a team high 16 points on 5-10 shooting (2-6 from 3 and 4-7 from the line).

USC Returns To The Comforts of Home Against Tennessee

SEC Standings               South Carolina Stats                 Tennessee Stats         

After a tough two games on the road, the Gamecocks (14-11, 5-6) return home where opponents of the South Carolina Basketball Program find it hard to get a win.  The Tennessee Vols (19-6, 7-4) will come into the Colonial Life Arena, better known as "The House That Horn Rebuilt" on Saturday afternoon trying to keep their winning momentum alive.  After finding the road again tough with losses at Georgia and Arkansas, Darrin Horn and team are understandably excited about returning home to the arena that has allowed few to leave with a victory since Horn has arrived in Columbia.  Sporting a record of 11-2 at home this season, including a win over then #1 Kentucky and only 2 regular season losses at home last year, Horn's first season.

Tennessee is fresh off a 69-60 victory at home against Georgia, but Tennessee while posting a 13-1 record at home this season is only 3-4 away from Knoxville.  South Carolina plays extremely well in the Colonial Life Arena for a few obvious reasons, but it appears that the Horn developed and inspired Garnet Army has raised the level of home court advantage and the energy deployed on game day in Columbia.  Returning the fan attention to the student body, along with reaching out to the female fan base, has allow the hosting basketball team to create a very hostile venue to visit and a tough place for opponents to execute their offense.  The atmosphere seems to fuel defensive energy in the Gamecocks and the fans appear ready to fuel the team's adrenaline following every positive play and any noticed extra individual effort displayed by the USC players.

While the NCAA may be a long shot, if a possibility at all, the post season still offers the NIT, which could be a better location for a team being built into a program.  To get in even that post season event requires wins.  Chances are great that South Carolina would host a couple of NIT games before having go on the road if they can continue to taking care of business at home and steal a victory or two in the SEC tournament.  A lot will ride on the game Saturday afternoon for both squads, but USC and Coach Horn have the advantage of being able to protect their house with a sixth man that is ready to execute with energizing support for 40+ minutes.

While the road has been tough, the welcome that awaits the Cocks as they return home Saturday to take on the Vols, who gave the Gamecocks one of the two regular season home losses last season, and get back to their winning ways should be extremely comforting to the competitive young men who believe in and support one another, the characteristic of a real team.  Hopefully the fan base will allow them to restore some of their confidence and aggressiveness to compete as always in Columbia.

The keys to victory tomorrow; re-identify with intense defense, challenge shots in the post and gain the same scoring output as displayed on the road over the last week, but support it with more interior offensive play to get to the free throw line more and make the opposing defense cover the entire floor with all five players.  If they continue to protect the ball as a team, gain a better balance of shot selection from post to perimeter and close the gap between their opponents and them at the free throw line, Coach Horn will continue to appreciate the term..."Home Sweet Home". 

Hogs Handle Cocks To Remain Atop The SEC West

Game Stats            Post Game/Highlight Access

On paper the teams appeared very similar, but on the floor in the Bud Walton Arena Arkansas (14-12, 7-4) was the clear dominant team winning 92-79 after leading by as much as 21 points in the second half.  The game was relatively close in the first half with each team trading buckets during various series, but just before the half Arkansas guard, Marcus Britt, stripped Devan Downey near half court, while Downey was attempting to gain instructions from South Carolina Head Coach, Darrin Horn.  Britt cruised in for the easy layup and extended the lead to 40-33 for the half.  Coach Horn accepted the blame for a play change at the last minute that briefly allowed Britt to slide in for the steal. 

With over 13,000 Razorbacks fans in attendance, the Hogs came out of the locker room and started a second half dunk-fest as aggressive defense and transition led to multiple dunks from run-outs, penetration & dishes and a few drop step.  The host team made an early second half 17-1 run that basically decided the fate of the Gamecocks at about the 14 minute mark.  The South Carolina (14-11, 5-6) second half defense was literally nonexistent as point guard Courtney Fortson, ran the transition game to near perfection, muscling his way to 19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals.  His steals often led to powerful finishes by Freshman Forward Marshawn Powell, 26 points, 8 rebounds and Senior Center Mike Washington 8 points, who also went over the 1,000 point total for his college career.  The Razorbacks of late had been receiving balanced scoring and it continued with guards Rotnei Clark 13 points (3-7 3-point) and Britt 12 points to round out the starter scoring.  The Hogs' balanced offensive floor attack resulted in 30-55 shooting (54.5%) and attacking the paint led to 27-39 (75%) from the free throw line.  Powell stated during post game interviews that his offensive output was predicted by Fortson in the locker room prior to the game after reviewing and preparing for the match-ups.

The Gamecocks on the other hand were 31-69 (44.9%) and 6-12 (50%) from the line.  Sam Muldrow had a career high 23 points, on 9-13 shooting, to go along with 8 rebounds.  However, the team's power forward was 4-6 from long range and his perimeter approach resulted in only one trip to the free throw line (1-2).  The SEC leading scorer, Downey (28 points) was 11-28 from the field, 2-7 from long range with 7 assists and 4 steals.  The only other significant scorer for the visitors was Brandis Raley-Ross with 16 points on 6-12 shooting (3-7 3-point).  All three scored the majority of their points in the second half after the insurmountable lead was established by Arkansas.

The lack of defensive pressure and disruption to the Razorback guards, along with no answer for their penetration and power finishes led to the lopsided second half and disappointing loss for the Gamecocks.  Arkansas' Fortson was not totally sharp in the half court and on transition early as some sloppy play recorded 8 turnovers for the Razorback point guard, but USC countered that total with Downey's highest turnover total for the season with 8 mistakes on the night for the Cocks.  Both teams had spots of sloppy play with a total of 38 turnovers, 20 belonging to Arkansas.  For the second game in a row, the Gamecocks continued approach to perimeter scoring versus an opponent willing to play inside/out resulted in 30 fouls committed for the Cocks against only 16 for their opponents.  Head Coach John Pelphrey's team shot 36 free throws connecting on 27, while the 6-12 Gamecock total was a scoring difference of 21 points just at the free throw line.  The win gives Arkansas a complete game led over Mississippi State (18-8, 6-5) in the West.

Next up for the Gamecocks, Tennessee (19-6, 7-4) in Columbia, SC Saturday before traveling to Lexington, Ky to take on the Kentucky (25-1, 10-1).

USC and Arkansas Look To Rebound

Coach Horn Pre-Game

South Carolina (14-10, 5-5) travels to Fayetteville to meet the Arkansas Razorbacks (13-12, 6-4) with both teams coming off close losses on Saturday.  The Gamecocks lost to Georgia in Athens 66-61 and the Razorbacks lost in Tuscaloosa 73-68.  The teams are very familiar in size and playing style.  The Razorbacks after a slow start find themselves atop the SEC West following a recent 5 game winning streak that ended with the loss to Alabama this past weekend.  Arkansas is not as protective of its home arena as South Carolina carrying a 11-7 home record, but they are 4-1 at home since entering conference play.

Both squads, coached by young coaches, Darrin Horn for South Carolina and John Pelphrey at Arkansas, rely on scoring from their sub six-foot point guards, both teams like to run and turn up the tempo with defensive pressure.  Both teams receive very little scoring from their reserves and will go 9 players deep in rotation.  But that may be where the comparisons stop, Arkansas has been able to get balanced double digit scoring from four members of the starting line up, 5'11" Courtney Fortson averages 19.7 ppg, 6'0" Rotnei Clarke 16.1 ppg, 6'7" Marshawn Powell 14.8 ppg and 6'9" Mike Washington 12.7 ppg.  With South Carolina getting the bulk of its scoring from 5'9" Devan Downey at 22.8 ppg  and 6'2" Brandis Raley-Ross 11.0.  Arkansas has been able to reel off 5 straight SEC victories this season, South Carolina only been able to post back to back victory in the conference this season.

Downey's ability to create problems for any team is well documented, but his recent 18-60 (26.7%) shooting would be considered a concern by most, but Coach Horn does not appear to be concerned over the percentages, just the effort and game ending results.  Horn will be satisfied to challenge the home court advantage by Pelphrey's team by staying close and having a chance to take control late and win.  Pelphrey on the other hand will try to keep Downey out of the paint, challenge the post players and make South Carolina win or die by the long ball.  With Downey, expect Pelphrey to use the same philosophy of recent coaches, to make Downey work to get near the basket and force him well off the arc to score from beyond the imaginary NBA 3-point line.

Likewise, recent trends have watched South Carolina opponents' turnovers come way down, allowing less transition buckets and limiting extra possessions, which generally lead to more shots, something the Gamecocks will need if they are going to rely on the normal scoring trend to win in Arkansas.  Sam Muldrow will need to get into the half court offense in this game to increase the Gamecock chances of winning, unless Lakeem Jackson can generate substantial offense in transition. If the Razorbacks get hot from the outside with its' three guard offense, this could be a long night for the Gamecocks, because the Arkansas post is an adequate transition and rebounding group that can score in the post in isolation.

Cold Shooting Finally Fails The Cocks In Athens

Game Stats   Game Highlights
    

South Carolina (14-10, 5-5) could not score in the final minutes of the game in Athens to lose a much needed game 66-61 after leading Georgia (11-12, 3-7) by 10, 52-42, with a little over 9 minutes remaining in the contest.  With a late winter storm leaving snow and ice all over the midlands of South Carolina, the Gamecocks traveled to Athens hoping for a win and another step toward the NCAA post season festival.

The Cocks shot themselves out of the game and possibly out of the NCAA dance, by avoiding the post in half court offenses and settling for the tough 3-point score rather than forcing the Dawgs to play defense in the paint.  Georgia only committed 7 fouls with only Ricky McPhee recording 2 fouls for the game.  Devan Downey (6-22) and Brandis Raley Ross (7-18) were 13-40 of the 65 shots taken for the game by the Gamecocks.  26 of the shots by the starting back court were from long distance, connecting on only 7.  With 2 3's in a row by Downey finishing the first half for South Carolina to leave the game at a tie, 31-31, the visitors entered the second half with a less than urgent character as the perimeter shooting and some cold Bulldogs shooting in the first 10 minutes of the second half allowed USC to sneak to a lead that placed urgency to Head Coach Mark Fox's Bulldogs.  By placing the offense in an inside-out rhythm, the Dawgs chipped away at the USC lead from the paint, the free throw line and long range to outscore the Cocks 24-9 to finish the game. At one period Georgia went 13-0 in the overall run.  The 36 points, 18 each by Ross and Downey was little less than impressive the post un-attacked and Georgia left to relax in the post.  Georgia played all five starters in 33 minutes or more and was able to get balanced shot selection and scoring from post to perimeter with Trey Thompkins scoring 21, Jeremy Price 16 and Travis Leslie 15.  Thompkins added 10 rebounds for his 6th double-double of the season.

Sam Muldrow played 27 minutes shooting 8 shots making only 2, and no trips to the free throw line.  Georgia was 20-23 from the charity stripe versus USC 4-6.  The lack of fouls committed with the ball staying on the USC perimeter allowed the Bulldogs to keep the Gamecocks off the line.  Georgia only took 49 official shots from the field for the game, 16 less than South Carolina.  16 is the exact number of 3-point shots taken by Fox's home team, which is 16 less than the 32 taken by the visiting team.  Coach Horn will have to find a better blend of shots, ball movement and post use in the offense to be successful for the remainder of the season.  All teams will be able to defend and create difficult shots for a perimeter oriented squad with its leading scorer the 5'9" point guard and all other scoring threats a mystery.  In the current trend, USC will have to rely on spectacular perimeter scoring or tremendous offensive rebounding to win a significant number of the remaining games.

Next up Arkansas in Fayetteville, Wednesday for the true "do or die" game for NCAA post season invitation to the dance.  Without this win, the Cocks will be forced to make the finals of the SEC, and without at least a 9-7 conference record, the trip to the big dance will require a tournament championship.  Horn's a fighter, will his team adopt his tenacity?         Click Here To View NCAA Selection Process....Mock Selection