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

After losing a heartbreaker at home to the number-2 Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday night, the South Carolina basketball team will face another massive test on Saturday against the Tennessee Volunteers. The game will be played in Knoxville at 6:00 EST and will be aired on the SECNEtwork and the ESPN App.

The Rick Barnes-coached Tennessee team is currently ranked number-11 in the country but has lost four of their last five in-conference games (and five of their last seven). However, they also beat Alabama during that same stretch, and four of those losses were against hot teams in Texas A&M, Missouri, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.

Led by their guards Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi, the Vols are tough to play against. The two combine to set teammates up for good shot opportunities with 8.1 assists per game and disrupt opposing offenses to the tune of 4 steals per contest. Olivier Nkemhoua has come on of late, averaging about twelve points and five rebounds over his last eight times out on the court.

The Gamecocks are going to be outrebounded by the Vols’ length on Saturday unless recent trends change. Tennessee is the second-best rebounding team in the conference, and South Carolina got smoked on the glass against Alabama. Josh Gray has done his part lately (averaging exactly 10 rebounds a game over his last ten games), but the rest of the team has not hit the boards consistently during that same stretch.

Tennessee doubled up the Gamecocks in January, winning 85-42. The Gamecocks will almost assuredly play better than they did that day as their overall level of play has improved dramatically since February began. Gray has emerged as a real contributor, GG Jackson has re-emerged, and Jacobi Wright has stepped up to play at a level he never has before.

If South Carolina can hit their shots from deep (they are currently top-4 in the SEC), they will have a chance. That is much easier said than done, however, as the Vols boast the top 3-point defense in the nation, holding opponents to just 25% from distance.

Prediction

South Carolina comes out with toughness and energy that knocks the Vols back. However, the more-talented home team will slowly wear down the thin Gamecocks and push ahead for a comfortable victory. The rebounding margin will be ugly, and the South Carolina offense will struggle in the second half due to fatigue.