South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down vs. Mississippi Valley State
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi Valley State:
Thumbs Down
. South Carolina Gamecocks. FREE THROW SHOOTING . Thumbs Down. Free throw shooting hasn’t been good enough this season. That might sound nitpicking considering the fact that the Gamecocks, quite literally, are scoring over 100 points per game. However, when the competition is better on a night-in and night-out basis, leaving free points on the table could come back to bite South Carolina. On Friday, USC shot 63.6% from the charity stripe, including a combined 0-5 from Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins. With how dominant Coach Staley’s team has been on offense, don’t be surprised if teams start fouling the Gamecocks to slow down the pace and potentially lower their shooting efficiency.
. South Carolina Gamecocks. TURNOVERS . Thumbs Down. There is never a good time for a turnover. The Gamecocks gave away the ball 15 times on Friday, including 10 from MiLaysia Fulwiley, Ashlyn Watkins, and Sania Feagin. Against a better team than MVSU, that will result in much more than the 5 points off of turnovers that they surrendered in this game. The good news is that high-touch players like Raven Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao, Kamilla Cardoso, and Chloe Kitts combined for just 2 turnovers over 85 minutes.
Thumbs Down. Dawn Staley’s team did a great job without Tessa Johnson on Friday, so this “thumbs down” is a bit of a reach. But the Gamecocks’ roster construction could come back to bite them eventually. Carolina has three players who can run the point (Raven Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao, and MiLaysia Fulwiley), but they only have one other guard on the roster (Tessa Johnson), and she is hurt right now. Bree Hall can play the 2 if needed, and several of the Carolina forwards can do some things on the perimeter, as well. But against a good defensive team, if the Gamecocks lose a guard to injury or foul trouble, will they have enough to play effectively on offense? Time will tell.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
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