South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks to open season versus Liberty
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina basketball opens its season Saturday vs. Liberty.
Frank Martin and the South Carolina Gamecocks open their 2020-21 season this Saturday in the Hall of Fame Classic held in Kansas City, Missouri. The Gamecocks will take on Liberty in a first round matchup before playing either TCU or Tulsa in round two.
South Carolina has its deepest team since its 2017 Final Four run, with many experts thinking highly of the veteran group. Back are eight of the team’s top ten scorers from 2019, including leading point getter AJ Lawson (13.4 pt/g).
Also back are guard/forwards Jermain Couisnard, Trae Hannibal, Keyshawn Bryant, Justin Minaya, TJ Moss, and transfer Seventh Woods, which round out one of the deepest backcourts in college basketball.
Liberty has already started its 2020-21 slate, having split its first two matchups versus Purdue (L) and Mississippi State (W).
In those two contests, the Flames have been led by Darius McGhee, who’s averaging 22 points a game so far this year. McGhee has connected on 11 of his 25 three pointers, and has also paced the team in rebounding (4.5 reb/g).
Other contributors have been Micaiah Abil and Elijah Cuffee, who have both hit on 6-of-8 threes, and who both average double figures through two games.
The Gamecocks will need to use an active defense to slow the Flames scoring attack that’s posted 74 points a contest. That includes an 84 point output last time on the floor. South Carolina defenders will need to be lock down the perimeter and force tough shots from the outside. The Flames like to shoot the three ball, and have connected on 30-of-71 three-point attempts as a team (42%).
The weakness of the group may be its defense, which is allowing opponents to find their looks outside (46% on 3-pt attempts) and score 75 points a game. South Carolina was 11-3 when scoring at least 75 points in contests last season.
Tip is set for 4:00 PM on Saturday, with the game being televised on ESPNews.