South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from Gamecocks' win over Florida
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball vs. Florida Gators
Thumbs Up 2: 2nd Half Stars
Whether it was a coaching adjustment or just players executing better, the Gamecock offense was much better after halftime, just like the defense.
Meechie Johnson was the star, scoring 21 of his 25 points after the 1st half ended. He shot 9-10 from the field and played excellent defense in the 1-3-1.
Collin Murray-Boyles lived at the free throw line, and the fabulous freshman made 9-10 from the stripe after halftime as he went off for 11 points to compliment Johnson's effort. He logged his first career double-double.
Ta'Lon Cooper did Ta'Lon Cooper things, playing turnover-free basketball after halftime. He also made both of 3-pointers.
Zach Davis didn't score much (just 2 points from the free throw line after the game was basically over), but he was a menace at the top of the 1-3-1 zone, and he was one of three Gamecock backcourt players (along with Johnson and Cooper) to pick up 2 steals in the 2nd half.
Josh Gray, filling in for the struggling BJ Mack, anchored the post defense along with Collin Murray-Boyles. The Gamecocks allowed 37.5% shooting on layup attempts as Gray and CMB did a great job bothering shots.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Florida Gators
Thumbs Up 3: Free Throws
South Carolina went 23-31 from the free throw line against Florida. That 74.2% effort isn't anything special. In fact, it's remarkably average. However, how the Gamecocks got to that number was impressive.
First, the Gamecocks forced their way to the line for 31 attempts, 21 of them coming in the 2nd half. USC didn't get the usual production from the line from their good free throw shooters as Meechie Johnson and Jacobi Wrigth combined to go 5-10. However, the rest of the Gamecocks went 18-21 as Zach Davis knocked down 6-6, Collin Murray-Boyles made 9-10, and Josh Gray converted on 3-5, a good number for the big fella.
On defense, though fouls were prevalent, Carolina only allowed Florida to shoot 15 freebies.