South Carolina basketball had a different starting lineup in Columbia, Missouri than it has had any other game of the season. GG Jackson did not start after venting his frustrations with losing and his usage on Instagram Live after the Gamecocks lost to Arkansas. If the Gamecocks were going to end their seven-game losing streak, it was going to be with a limited role for their most talented player.
Noah Carter had the first six points for Missouri, and D’Moi Hodge added two quick threes as part of a 14-7 start for the Tigers. Josh Gray’s strong work on the offensive glass kept the deficit from being larger, as he logged three rebounds off his team’s misses in four minutes of gameplay. Both teams were chucking the orange from deep as nine of the game’s first thirteen shot attempts were three-point attempts. GG Jackson came into the game as the second sub for the Gamecocks and immediately hit a game-tying 3. He was removed from the game after a subsequent turnover and did not return for five more minutes.
As the first half continued, South Carolina played with a quicker pace than usual, and the Missouri fanbase came alive despite Mizzou Arena not being full. The faster pace and louder crowd combined to result in more turnovers for South Carolina on offense and more defensive lapses on the Gamecocks’ other end of the floor. Missouri’s hot shooting continued over the next few minutes, especially for D’Moi Hodge who finished the half with four made three-pointers. The Gamecocks, though, gathered themselves and finished the half with a long stretch of solid offensive play.
Meechie Johnson hit two very deep threes and put together some of his best drive and kick possessions of the season to help keep the Gamecocks afloat during Missouri’s offensive onslaught. Hayden Brown played very well in the first half, scoring twelve points, all at the rim and the free throw line. The Gamecocks’ three starting guards all produced as passers, logging multiple assists each, and GG Jackson scored 11 points in only about eight minutes of play. The Gamecocks outshot and outrebounded Missouri for the half, but Missouri’s made threes and ability to capitalize on South Carolina’s turnovers kept them ahead.
The score was 42-37 at halftime, and after the intermission, both teams scored early and often. Jacobi Wright scored a quick seven points when play resumed for the Gamecocks, and Missouri’s Nick Honor and Kobe Brown allowed Mizzou to hold serve with the Carolina outburst. A few more traded buckets and a long review for an incidental Meechie Johnson face shot ensued, and the score stood 59-56 in favor of the Tigers.
Another incidental face contact review canceled the under-12 timeout, but both teams continued their high-level play on offense. More back-and-forth buckets kept the score close as GG Jackson and Kobe Brown displayed why they are among the conference’s elite players. Jackson led the charge for South Carolina’s blisteringly-hot shot, but Brown and his Tigers sustained their points-off-turnovers success as Jacobi Wright and Chico Carter continued to turn the ball over. The high-scoring affair slowed down tremendously, and a dry spell offensively sunk the Gamecocks as they only made one shot from the field during a late stretch of gameplay over nine minutes long.
The difference in the game up to that point was Missouri’s ability to force turnovers. A top-10 team in the country in that category, Dennis Gates’ squad scored efficiently and often on 14 Gamecock giveaways, and that number made up for South Carolina’s shotting advantage on the night. Kobe Brown and D’Moi Hodge combined for eight steals for Mizzou, and Wright and Carter combined for 9 turnovers for the CourtCocks. In a game that was more competitive than the near double-digit final margin, GG Jackson’s 23 efficient points were not enough as the Gamecocks’ losing streak grew to eight games.
The Gamecocks will stay on the road as they play the Rebels of Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford.