South Carolina Basketball: SEC Tournament Preview vs. Ole Miss

The South Carolina basketball team has played better of late. A disappointing season avoided disaster as the Gamecocks won 3 of their final 7 games, including a Senior Day victory over the rival Georgia Bulldogs, and guaranteed they would not break the program’s record for most losses in a season.

The Gamecocks’ postseason experience will end in the SEC Tournament unless they manage to win the whole thing. Played in Nashville but not on Vanderbilt’s campus, Carolina will play in the tournament’s first game on Wednesday against Ole Miss at 7:00 on the SECNetwork and the ESPN App. The 12-seeded Gamecocks and 13-seeded Rebels played twice this year with each team winning one game.

If the Gamecocks are to beat the Rebs and advance to Thursday’s games, they will have to perform better on offense than they did in the previous two matchups. The Gamecocks averaged just 61 points in the two games and were bailed out in their victory in Oxford by Meechie Johnson accounting for 9 points (six points and an assist to Jacobi Wright for a 3) in the final 80 seconds.

Rebounding, as it often is, will be extremely important for the Gamecocks’ chances of success on Wednesday. The margin on the glass heavily-favored Ole Miss in their win, and the rebounding total was dead even when the Gamecocks won. Josh Gray has consistently been a force on the glass the last month and a half, but his teammates will have to back him up on the boards for South Carolina to win the battle.

The other key to a happy South Carolina basketball program on Wednesday night is containing Matthew Murrell. Perimeter defense has not been a strength for Lamont Paris’ team this season, but it has been better of late. Meechie Johnson and Jacobi Wright will get the lion’s share of the minutes defending Murrell, and the 15 points per game Rebel must be forced to take contested shots or dribble into the waiting defense of Josh Gray.

Prediction

Two teams without much to play for, South Carolina and Mississippi could play an ugly brand of basketball on Wednesday night. Unless either team thinks they can win the entire SEC Tournament, their seasons will end this week. The difference could lie in coaching, specifically in the fact that Ole Miss doesn’t have a coach right now. Kermit Davis was let go just a couple of weeks ago.

The Gamecocks have played better than the Rebels in recent weeks, and Lamont Paris has been preaching “progress” to his team. With every player eligible to return except Hayden Brown, the roster could be playing for their roles on next year’s team. Even with GG Jackson likely leaving for the NBA, the Gamecocks have several players who could play important roles in the program’s future.

That motivation, combined with an increased emphasis on rebounding, will be the difference in the game. GG Jackson and Hayden Brown will score early and often, and Meechie Johnson will get hot in the second half as the Rebel defense can’t keep defending the guard with unlimited range forever. The bigs do just enough on the boards to allow the Gamecocks to stay just ahead through the whole second half.

The winner of this first-round matchup will take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday at 3:00 on the SECNetwork and ESPN App.