South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks survive ugly game against CSU to move to 9-1

South Carolina basketball fans saw their favorite women's team dominate the Presbyterian Blue Hose early on Saturday afternoon in Colonial Life Arena. The men played just a few hours later, but that contest against Charleston Southern was anything but a domination.

The Gamecocks played an ugly game against the Buccaneers and won by just a 4-point margin.

The game was a weird one as the numbers didn't match up with what was seen on the court. The Gamecocks didn't play outrageously poorly, but there wasn't much that the Gamecocks did particularly well, either. The same could be said about CSU, but there were a few things that allowed Charleston Southern to stay in the game.

Charleston Southern made some really difficult shots against pretty good South Carolina defense. Inefficient offensive shot selection didn't hurt the Bucs as they made a ton of midrange jumpers and fadeaways against hands in their faces.

3-point shooting went in favor of the visitors. The Buccaneers shot 7-18 vs. just 6-25 from the Gamecocks behind the arc. CSU also won the block battle 7-0, meaning that the Gamecocks' 5-shot attempt advantage was nullified.

The pace of the game was slower, causing the Gamecocks to play a little differently than they like to play. 63 of Charleston Southern's 69 points came from four of their starters, while the Gamecocks needed 24 points bench points for the tight win.

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