South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks to take on LSU in SEC showdown

South Carolina basketball hopes to get back on the court this weekend.

South Carolina (3-2, 1-0) is set to travel to Baton Rouge this Saturday, where they’ll face off against SEC rival LSU (9-2, 4-1). The Gamecocks won their conference opener early last week, blowing out Texas A&M by a score of 78-54. Unfortunately, the team was forced to cancel its next two games due to COVID concerns in the locker room, bringing the total number of cancellations to seven games on the season. South Carolina has played just two games since December 5th.

As of now, the locker room issues seem to be cleaned up, and the team is scheduled to face off against a Tigers group that’s won four of their last five contests, with the only setback being a four-point loss on the road at Florida.

Let’s take a look at the upcoming matchup, and breakdown the Gamecocks’ chances against their SEC foe.

How do Gamecocks respond to lengthy time off?

South Carolina finally got back on the court last week, after spending nearly a month of the season battling COVID tracing within the program. As is expected, the team was a bit rusty, squeaking out a 78-71 win over Florida A&M. After working out some kinks in that first game back, the Gamecocks looked much better in a 24-point win over Texas A&M. They seemed to be trending in the right direction as the conference slate was opening up.

Shortly after that big win, though, the team was again put on hiatus, meaning practice time is sparse and the roster limited as the Gamecocks prepare for the Tigers. South Carolina has not had more than nine players available for a game since November.

Expect the Gamecocks to look rusty again in the first few possessions. Hopefully, that rust will shake quickly, and the team can settle back into the groove we saw the last time out.

Can the defense contain Cameron Thomas?

Thomas has been the Tigers’ leading scorer, notching double figures in four of his last five games. Thomas already has seven 20-point outings, including three in SEC play. The only game this year where the superstar guard has not scored more than 15 points was a matchup versus Ole Miss, where he played just four minute before suffering an early ankle injury. He’s averaging 21.8 points per game, and that total increases to 24 points a contest if you remove the brief appearance against the Rebels.

If there’s a weakness in Thomas’s game, it’s his perimeter shooting, where he’s only shooting 31% and has made just two of his last 16 attempts.

Seventh Woods, AJ Lawson, and Jermaine Couisnard are going to have to keep the ball in front of them and not allow Thomas to find the paint. If they can do that, they should be able to slow his down a bit. If not, the Gamecocks could be in for a long night.

Can AJ Lawson continue hot streak?

South Carolina also has a high-scoring guard in AJ Lawson, who’s tallied back-to-back performances of 25 points or more. He led the team with a career-high 30 points in the win over Texas A&M on 10-of-22 shooting.

South Carolina needs their leading scorer to continue to be productive, as he may need to match LSU’s Cameron Thomas to keep the Gamecocks from falling behind. He showed little effect from the team’s month-long break in his return last week, and Frank Martin is hoping that will be the case against the Tigers, too.

For the year, Lawson has reached double figures in four of five contests. He’s averaging career bests in shooting percentage, scoring, free throw percentage, and steals. If he can keep the momentum going, he gives the Gamecocks a chance to pull the upset.

Key Matchup

The obvious matchup will be between Lawson and Thomas, but there’s another area on the court where the game could ultimately be determined, and that will be a battle between the bigs on LSU and South Carolina.

The Tigers have a couple of forwards in Trendon Watford and Darius Days, both of whom average double figures in scoring, and pace the team in rebounding. South Carolina, on the other hand, is very young in the paint, and they’ve been without post players Keyshawn Bryant and Alanzo Frink since early December. The Gamecocks have relied on a small, three-guard lineup for a majority of the year, meaning the LSU bigs could provide to be a huge mismatch for Frank Martin’s group.

Justin Minaya will be a player that’s called upon to defend these two scoring threats, as well as keep them off the offensive glass. Sophomore center Wildens Leveque will also be relied upon heavily in the rebounding department.

The Gamecocks should also have Jalyn McCreary available, who was cleared to come back to action ahead of the SEC opener. McCreary turned in a six-point, nine-rebound performance in the win over the Aggies.

McCreary, Leveque, and Minaya’s performances could be the key to South Carolina’s success against the Tigers.

Prediction

The Gamecocks have, once again, missed time dealing with COVID. They’ll likely not have a full bench and could get off to a slow start in their first road game in over a month.

LSU has the ability to score, having many different threats in the lineup. Expect the Tigers to play fast, and take advantage of the Gamecocks’ issues.