South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from domination of Kentucky

South Carolina Basketball vs. Kentucky Wildcats
Thumbs Down 1: Top Scorers Struggled

BJ Mack and Meechie Johnson are the two best scorers on the South Carolina basketball team. However, they both struggled on offense for most of this game. A couple of 3-point makes from both players after the game was relatively out of hand made their nights look a little better than they really were. Ta'Lon Cooper and Jacobi Wright filled the void, and the whole team played well on defense (even Mack), so the problem didn't hurt the Gamecocks tonight.

However, moving forward, USC will need their best scorers to put the ball through the hoop when they don't get a superhuman effort from Ta'Lon Cooper or a 4-4 start from 3-point land from Jacobi Wright.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Kentucky Wildcats
Thumbs Down 2: 1st Half Sloppiness

South Carolina took an 8-point lead into halftime against Kentucky, and it still didn't feel like the Gamecocks played very well on offense. They shot 42% from the field (not terrible, but not good enough considering the good looks they got), and they turned the ball over 7 times. Carolina also only drew 7 total fouls and shot just 3 free throws (all by Stephen Clark).

BJ Mack and Meechie Johnson were 3-14 and 0-3 from outside, and the offense was largely reliant upon the fact that Jacobi Wright and Ta'Lon Cooper were 5-6 from the perimeter. Everything worked out for USC as the defense was stifling, and they righted the ship offensively in the 2nd half. However, Carolina needs to get out to a better start on offense next time out.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Kentucky Wildcats
Thumbs Up 3: The SEC Media

The final "Thumbs Down" from the Kentucky game goes to the SEC media. Why? Because the SEC media voted this South Carolina basketball team to be the worst team in the conference in the 2023-2024 season, that's why.