South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from VMI win

Thumbs Down. Maybe it was bad juju from a pretty bad VMI team, or maybe someone greased the basketball, but the Gamecocks couldn’t hold onto the rock at times on Monday night. A ton of rebounds slipped right out of the hands of the South Carolina basketball team, and there were several sloppy instances of loose ballhandling and lazy passes. It didn’t bite USC too hard against VMI, but it will if the issue persists into the more difficult parts of the schedule.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. BUTTERFINGERS

South Carolina Gamecocks. SHOOTING . Thumbs Down. This thumbs down can’t even be named “bricks” as the Gamecocks threw up more than a couple of air balls against VMI. This team can shoot the basketball, but if Monday night was your first time watching the CourtCocks, you probably wouldn’t believe that was true. 35% shooting from the field and 30% 3-point shooting is not good enough to win games against good competition. The team’s shot selection wasn’t terrible outside of some out-of-control drives from the Gamecock guards, but the ball went through the hoop more like the rigged rims at the State Fair than the baskets at Colonial Life Arena. Meechie Johnson shot 4-16 from the field, and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk was the only Gamecock to shoot better than 50%, going 2-3 from the field..

South Carolina Gamecocks. THE FREE THROW LINE . Thumbs Down. South Carolina took 25 free throws on Monday. They made just 68% of those shots from the charity stripe. The Gamecocks won against VMI, in part, because they were able to earn free points at the line on a night that they couldn’t consistently score, but the game would have been less in doubt if the Gamecocks converted at a better clip from the line. Myles Stute, BJ Mack, and Meechie Johnson combined for 22 of those trips to the line, making 15 of them. Stute and Johnson missed 6 freebies..

Related Story. South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks overcome ugly stretches to beat VMI, move to 3-0. light