South Carolina basketball utilized size advantage.
Rebounding
The Gamecocks entered this matchup with a notable size advantage and they used it to dominate the glass against the smaller Spartans. South Carolina bullied Upstate on the boards, outrebounding the Spartans by a margin of 52-34. Of those 52 boards, 17 were offensive, giving the Gamecocks second chance opportunities throughout the game. They turned those second chances into 16 points while holding Upstate to just three offensive rebounds and five extra possession points.
It wasn’t just one player, either. Six players in the game tallied at least five rebounds, led by Josh Gray and Wildens Leveque, who nabbed eight apiece. If South Carolina can continue this kind of success on the glass, it could help alleviate some of their shooting woes.
Big man play
Keeping the size theme, the South Carolina bigs played great in the season opener. Leveque, Gray, TaQuan Woodley, and JaVon Benson combined for 32 points on 54% shooting and notched 29 rebounds.
They also showed solid hands by swiping four steals and, for the most part, stayed out of foul trouble, though Woodley did foul out in only 13 minutes of action.
This was a matchup in which the Gamecocks needed their bigs to exploit the size difference and they did just that. Guard play will definitely be the strength of this team but if the guys down low can continue to pitch in with boards and a little scoring, South Carolina will surprise some folks down the stretch.
Defense
South Carolina held the Spartans to just 60 points on 40% shooting. After getting off to a hot start behind the arc, USC Upstate shot just 3-of-11 from three point land over the game’s final 33 minutes. As we mentioned earlier, the Gamecocks were able to limit second chance opportunities off of those misses and hold the Spartans in check on the scoreboard.
Also big in the contest were turnovers. South Carolina’s defenders forced Upstate into 20, 10 of which came off of steals. The Gamecocks blocked six shots and dominated the defensive glass to cruise to an 18-point victory.