South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down vs. Alabama

South Carolina Basketball vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Thumbs Up 1: 1st Half Defense

Somewhat forgotten after how the game ended is the fact that South Carolina was really good in the 1st half on defense. They held Alabama to just 30 points (they average over 90 points per game), and other than Mark Sears, the 'Tide shot just 6-19 from the field and 3-11 from outside. The Gamecocks' effort was tremendous, and they controlled the pace and flow of the game.

Sears and Aaron Estrada kept 'Bama in the game, though, and gave them the lead late in the half, and they never looked back.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Thumbs Up 2: Offensive Rebounding

After the 1st half, nothing really went right for Lamont Paris' team, so finding three thumbs-up is difficult. However, Carolina had a good night on the offensive glass, grabbing 12 of their own misses, even with lackluster effort in the 2nd half. However, indicative of what the final score would become, the Gamecocks missed almost all of their second-chance opportunities, scoring just 5 points off of those 12 offensive rebounds.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Thumbs Up 3: Free Throw Shooting

There weren't very many positives on Tuesday night, but the Gamecocks did shoot 89% from the free throw line. Frankly, USC didn't get to the line enough (just 9 attempts), but they at least knocked down their freebies. The only miss came from big Josh Gray in garbage time, meaning that the Gamecocks didn't miss a free throw during the normal flow of the game.

Though the defense in the 2nd half was pretty bad, for the game, Carolina did not foul much, finishing the game with 13 personal fouls and allowing Alabama to shoot just 9 shots from the charity stripe.