***IMPORTANT UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE***
South Carolina basketball is coming off a win for just the third time since conference play began. All three of those victories have come on the road, and the Gamecocks have played better on the road most of this season. Wednesday’s matchup with the number-2 Alabama Crimson Tide, however, will be at home in Columbia inside Colonial Life Arena. The game will be aired on ESPN2 at 9:00 on Wednesday night.
In what is sure to be a three-point shooting contest, the Gamecocks will have to defend better on the perimeter than they have all season to have a chance in this contest. Both teams average over 24 perimeter jumpers per game, but Alabama makes them at a higher rate than South Carolina. The Tide also is the second-best team in college basketball at defending the three ball, preventing other teams from making perimeter shots 8 percentage points better than the CourtCocks.
Alabama is (by a wide margin) the best rebounding team in the conference, averaging ten more boards than South Carolina. Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney each bring down eight a game for Head Coach Nate Oats, so keeping those two off the glass will be paramount if the Gamecocks are to pull off the upset. Josh Gray has been rebounding exceptionally well in recent weeks, but he will need his other forwards, like GG Jackson and Hayden Brown, to be big factors in this battle.
Alabama is the number-2 team in the country for a reason: they are really, really good. The Gamecocks are eleventh in the SEC standings for a reason: they have not been really, really good. Lamont Paris and his team have shown more fight in the last two weeks, having won two of their last three and competing solidly in two of their last three losses.
Making the guard rotation a little thing, Chico Carter and Ford Cooper missed Saturday’s contest against LSU and could miss the Alabama game, as well. Meechie Johnson and Jacobi Wright will be pressed into a massive workload on Wednesday, and wings like Jackson and Zachary Davis will have to play and defend well to keep this one close.
The drama revolving around GG Jackson has seemed to settle a bit after the Gamecocks’ road trip to Baton Rouge over the weekend, but the locker room turmoil and on-court disengagement are still at the back of most fans’ minds. If Paris and Jackson have truly mended their relationship, that will be a significant positive for the Gamecocks in this game and moving forward.
Prediction
The Crimson Tide is a very good basketball team, but they are not unbeatable. The Gamecocks will win this basketball game if they win both the rebounding battle and the three-point shootout. Unfortunately for the garnet and black, the Tide seems to have too much to throw at the Gamecocks for that to happen. South Carolina will not be able to defend the perimeter against the deep-range barrage they will see on Wednesday, and, other than Josh Gray, their rebounding won’t be up to par with the team from the Yellowhammer State. The Gamecocks fight but simply can’t hold their heads above water against the rising Tide.
UPDATE: After posting, news came out that could be relevant to Wednesday’s game. The details, however, are much bigger than any game could be. Alabama star freshman Brandon Miller (and potentially Head Coach Nate Oats) are in hot water regarding the January murder in Tuscaloosa that saw Alabama basketball player Darius Miles arrested for the crime. Miller allegedly is connected to the events of that night, and Head Coach Nate Oats was aware of Miller’s involvement. FanSided’s Mark Powell wrote about the situation. Details Here