South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks can't solve the Auburn problem again, now look ahead to NCAA Tournament

South Carolina Basketball vs. Auburn Tigers
Stats, Scoring, and Observations

In a game eerily similar to the one the two teams played in February, South Carolina basketball got smoked by the Auburn Tigers again, this time by a score of 86-55.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

Auburn

Points

Leader: Johni Broome with 18

Rebounds

Leader: Johni Broome with 10

Assists

Leader: Tre Donaldson with 4

Steals

Leader: Denver Jones with 3

Blocks

Leader: Dylan Cardwell with 4

Team

The Tigers shot 49.3%/47.4%/52.9% and had 5 turnovers

South Carolina

Points

Leader: BJ Mack with 14

Rebounds

Leader: 3 players each with 8

Assists

Leader: Zach Davis with 3

Steals

Leader: Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack each with 1

Blocks

Leader: Collin Murray-Boyles with 4

Team

The Gamecocks shot 27.6%/25%/71.4% and had 9 turnovers

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Ta’Lon Cooper-Meechie Johnson-Zach Davis-BJ Mack-Collin Murray-Boyles
• Myles Stute missed the game with a hip pointer.
• The Gamecocks couldn't make a shot in the 1st half. Outside of Ta'Lon Cooper's 2-2 from 3-point land, USC was 5-24 from the field and 0-4 from the perimeter. 3-11 on layups came via good interior defense from Auburn and scared fallaway attempts at the rim instead of strong takes.
• Only Collin Murray-Boyles and Josh Gray had any shot of holding back Johni Broome and company down low, but both players were whistled for 2 early fouls. CMB played some with 2 fouls, but his minutes were limited.
• South Carolina's ball movement was atrocious the entire 1st half. They had just 3 assists, all by Zach Davis. Instead of the smart offense they've played all year, they rushed shots, tried to play iso ball, or took low-percentage fallaway jumpers. They had as many turnovers (7) as shots made.
• There were a lot fouls called in the 1st half, favoring the deeper Auburn team. Collin Murray-Boyles, Josh Gray, Ta'Lon Cooper, Ebrima Dibba, and Zach Davis all had 2 fouls.
• The 2nd half was more of the same. Auburn defended well, but the Gamecocks didn't play their game on offense. The increased tempo hurt Carolina on both ends of the floor.
• Ta'Lon Cooper left the game with an ankle injury early in the 2nd half.
• There wasn't much to note from the 2nd half. Auburn continued to have their way. When they made shots, their lead grew, and when they missed shots, their lead didn't shrink.
• Every Gamecock other than Josh Gray shot 50% or less. The team went 13-52 other than Gray.