South Carolina Basketball: Pregame Prognostications vs. Missouri and How to Watch

Colonial Life Arena was host to a barn burner on Saturday night between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Arkansas Razorbacks. South Carolina basketball fell just short in a hard-fought matchup that saw their losing streak grow to seven straight games (and nine of ten). Some locker room turmoil followed as star freshman GG Jackson expressed frustration with the losing streak and his usage down the stretch in the latest loss.

The Gamecocks will need to put the losses and the frustrations behind them to stop their skid. Lamont Paris and his team will travel to the other Columbia to take on Missouri in the Tuesday night tilt. The game will begin at 9:00 EST and will be televised on the SECNetwork and streamed on the ESPN App.

The Tigers come into the matchup having won five of six in CoMo (and added another win in-state when they beat Illinois in St. Louis). Mizzou’s Kobe Brown is a big wing player who is the SEC’s fourth-leading scorer and is also one of the conference’s most efficient shooters, shooting over 57% from the field and 44% from the arc. His high level of play has carried new Head Coach Dennis Gates’ team at times this season, and South Carolina must defend him well (along with fellow 40% 3-point shooter D’Moi Hodge) in order to have a chance to win.

For the Gamecocks, GG Jackson is the team’s most talented player, but guard Meechie Johnson may be the key to success. Johnson’s best performances have come in an upset victory in Lexington over the Kentucky Wildcats and in the Gamecocks’ last game against Arkansas when he led the team on a 12-point comeback in the second half. Combined with the talent of Jackson and the increasingly good play from center Josh Gray, if Johnson shoots well from outside, the Gamecocks are a much tougher team.

Missouri is the only team in the SEC who rebounds at a lower clip than the South Carolina basketball team. Josh Gray’s increased workload (both in minutes and in role) could become a factor, as Gray has averaged 11 rebounds per game in just 23 minutes per game over his last five games. If Gray, Jackson, and Hayden Brown (the team’s front court players who play the most minutes) can rebound the basketball at a high rate, the Gamecocks might be able to overcome Missouri’s clear advantage in offensive efficiency.

Prediction

The trajectory of these two programs looks vastly different even though each team is in the first year of a new head coach. Dennis Gates, who reportedly had a contract offer from South Carolina this offseason, has Mizzou on the NCAA Tournament bubble at 17-6 and at 5-5 in the SEC, while the Gamecocks are spiraling. This game could be closer than the records would indicate, and the Gamecocks have performed better on the road than at home this season. A close game is very possible, but the Tigers are a better team right now and have more depth that will become a separating factor in the second half.