South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks face Tulsa in second round of HOF Classic
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina basketball gets set for game 2.
South Carolina dropped its season opening matchup to Liberty on Saturday, meaning they’ll play a second round matchup with Tulsa in the second round of the Hall of Fame Classic Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Hurricane fell to TCU in its round one meeting by a score of 70-65. Tulsa was led by guard Brandon Rachal, who led all scorers with 19 points. He was one of three Golden Hurricane players to reach double figures.
South Carolina is looking to get back on track after a sloppy performance versus Liberty. The Gamecocks shot just 39% from the field, including a miserable 3 of 17 mark from beyond the arc. South Carolina was led by last year’s leading scorer AJ Lawson, who scored 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Jermaine Couisnard and Keyshawn Bryant also reached double figures.
South Carolina will need to do a better job on its perimeter defense, as they allowed Liberty to connect on 11 of its 26 three point attempts. The Flames shot over 56% as a team, including that 42% clip from three.
Tulsa will look to improve after hitting just 4 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc. Despite the struggles from three point land, the Golden Hurricane were still able to shoot 50% from the field. They, too will need to lock down the outside from a defensive perspective, as the Horned Frogs hit on 11 of 27 threes in yesterday’s matchup.
The Gamecocks will look to get back on track, as they try to right the ship and pave a path to the NCAA Tournament. The game will tip off at 1:00 PM, and will be aired on ESPN 2.