South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks welcome Auburn for SEC battle
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina basketball takes on Auburn this afternoon.
South Carolina comes back home this weekend after two consecutive road matchups against SEC foes. The Gamecocks dropped both of those battles, falling 85-80 against LSU and 81-70 to Missouri.
Now, South Carolina will look to get back in the win column as they welcome Auburn to Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks have dropped two straight to the Tigers, including last year’s lone meeting, an 80-67 road loss.
Frank Martin is hoping to get his team healthy, as the program has struggled with COVID issues throughout the year. In all, the Gamecocks have been forced to cancel or postpone seven games, having both players and members of the coaching staff contract the virus. South Carolina played just one game in the month of December.
Even when the Gamecocks have been able to get on the court, they’ve been shorthanded. Lack of depth played a part in each of the last two losses, as the team has struggled to keep experience on the floor.
Against LSU, the Gamecocks blew a late lead after controlling the first 35 minutes of the game. With tired legs, South Carolina made just one of its last 12 shots, allowing the Tigers to overcome a double digit deficit and steal the win. Multiple players on the team were forced to play all 40 minutes of action.
Versus Missouri, the Gamecocks were without their two top post players, and it showed. Missouri big man Jeremiah Tilmon controlled the game, scoring 19 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a victory. South Carolina got into early foul trouble trying to defend the paint, and couldn’t slow a Missouri offense that shot nearly 60% from the field.
Shifting the focus to Auburn
The Gamecocks are favored in the matchup against the Tigers, coming in as a slight one-point favorite. The Tigers are coming off of a close loss against Arkansas, but they did take down Kentucky and Georgia in their two games prior.
The team is led by guards Sharife Cooper and Allen Flanigan. Flanigan leads the squad in points scored, rebounds, and assists. He’s shot nearly 50% from the floor, including a 37% clip from beyond the arc. The sophomore has notched double figures in three of the Tigers’ last four outings.
Cooper has only played four games for the Auburn program, but he’s turning heads early. The rookie saw his first action in an early January matchup versus in-state rival Alabama. He turned in a 26-point performance, his first of four consecutive games of 10 points or more. He’s also notched scoring outputs of 11, 25, and 28 points.
Cooper is taking more than 18 shots a game, connecting on 40% of his field goals. He has, however, struggled from three-point range, converting just three of his 22 attempts on the year.
The Gamecocks will need to lock down the aggressive backcourt and force the Tigers to make jump shots, as they try to slow an attack that scores 76 points a contest (6th in the SEC).
Prediction
The Gamecocks haven’t played since Tuesday, so hopefully the extra rest will provide the team with a needed boost. Expect AJ Lawson and Jermaine Couisnard to bounce back from tough nights versus Missouri and lead South Carolina to a second conference win.