South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks to face Vanderbilt in SEC showdown
By Jacob Elsey
The South Carolina basketball team looks to extend its winning streak.
South Carolina looks to stay in the win column this weekend following an 83-59 dismantling of the Georgia Bulldogs earlier this week. It was the team’s second win in SEC play, and hopefully will be a springboard as the Gamecocks try to get back in the conference championship race.
Vanderbilt will be the next task for Frank Martin’s group, and present an opportunity for South Carolina to get back to .500 in league play. The Commodores have lost six straight games, and have yet to secure a win in the SEC. The lost 78-71 at Florida their last time out.
The Gamecocks have gotten a huge boost from Keyshawn Bryant, who returned from the COVID protocol list in early January. Since his return, Bryant is leading the conference in scoring, averaging 22 points per contest in league play. He’s notched double figures in each of his last four matchups, including eclipsing the 20-point mark in two of those performances. He scored a game-high 19 points in the win over Georgia.
Bryant isn’t the only one getting it done for the Gamecocks, though. AJ Lawson and Justin Minaya have also been major contributors over the last few weeks. Lawson is scoring more than 18 points per game in league action, while Minaya is just under averaging a double-double in SEC matchups (8.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg).
Scoring hasn’t been the main issue for the Gamecocks of late, as they’ve 80 points or more in three of their last four contests. Unfortunately, they’ve also allowed more than 80 in three of those matchups, which has led to a 1-3 stretch over the last couple of weeks. The defense took a step forward versus Georgia, holding the Bulldogs to less than 60 points. They’ll need to keep that kind of defensive intensity if they want to make a run.
South Carolina turned the Bulldogs over 20 times, which led to quick runouts and easy buckets. The Commodores are averaging around 14 turnovers a matchup, so hopefully the Gamecocks can again play takeaway and force Vanderbilt into offensive mistakes.
What the Gamecocks can’t afford to do is let Vandy get hot from the outside. The Commodores have made 109 of their 322 three-point attempts, the fifth best mark in the conference. They shoot at a clip of 34% from beyond the arc, with three-pointers making up nearly 38% of their offensive production. The team lives and dies by the three.
Players to watch
Vanderbilt will lean heavily on leading scorer Scotty Pippen, Jr. He’s notched double figures in every game this year, including a season-high 32 points in Wednesday’s loss against Florida. Only once has Pippen been held to less than 15. He also leads the team in assists (5.3 apg).
Big man Dylan Disu could also present problems for a South Carolina team that’s thin in the post. The Gamecocks will be without forward Alanzo Frink for the rest of the year, while Jalyn McCreary just returned from the COVID list. Should he or center Wildens Leveque get in early foul trouble, it could be a long night for the Gamecock defense. Disu ranks second in the SEC in rebounding (8.5 rpg).
Series info
The Gamecocks and Commodores have met 58 times on the hardwood, with each team winning 29 games apiece. South Carolina has won three of the last four meetings, though the teams split their two 2020 regular season matchups.
Nashville has been a place the Gamecocks have struggled, losing 10 of their last 13 times when facing Vanderbilt on the road. They’ve lost six of their last seven matchups in Memorial Gymnasium dating back to 2010.
Prediction
The Commodores have struggled in SEC play, being up and down over its first six games of action. In three of those losses, they’ve stayed within 10 points, including three-point defeats against Kentucky and Mississippi State.
In the other three games, though, Vanderbilt has been beaten by 19, 20, and 21 points.
We’re expecting the Commodores to hang tough as they typically play the Gamecocks well, particularly at home. But it seems that South Carolina has some momentum, and they should be able to outscore a Vanderbilt offense that has just two consistent scoring threats.
We’ll take the Gamecocks to stay hot.