Jan 5, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Brenton Williams (1) holds the ball on South Carolina State Bulldogs guard Adama Adams (5) during the second half at the Colonial Center Arena. Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports
The Gamecocks did not have the type of SEC opener coach Frank Martin probably expected.
24 turnovers and a truly awful no-call at the end of their game at Mississippi State doomed them to an 0-1 start in SEC play.
Carolina will have a chance to avenge that loss pretty quickly, because they take on Auburn at 1:30 pm today.
The Tigers are 1-0 in SEC play after opening with a 68-63 home win over LSU.
On “Carolina Calls”, the weekly basketball radio call-in show, Martin said Auburn will be the most physical team SC has played all year.
As long as they don’t run a 1-3-1 zone, that physicality shouldn’t be a problem for the Gamecocks, who rank almost 50 spots ahead of Auburn in rebounding.
If the Tigers do run any tricky defenses, though, Carolina could be in trouble. Against the 1-3-1 Mississippi State ran at times, the Gamecocks looked absolutely lost.
SC will most likely benefit from increased playing time for Michael Carrera (hip) and Brenton Williams (Martin’s dog house?) the team’s second leading rebounder and best scorer respectively.
Carolina really needs this game to turn out well, because three of their next five games are on the road, and two of their next five games are against the number 11 and 10 teams in the country.