South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from the Gamecocks' win over Mississippi State
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 1: Return of the Mack
BJ had three games of struggles leading up to Saturday, but the big fella didn't struggle against Mississippi State.
On just 11 shots from the field, BJ Mack scored 25 points. He went 8-11 (2-5) and added 7 free throws on 8 tries. Mack also made some clutch buckets (and free throws) down the stretch of regulation and overtime.
Just about every second of the game had either Josh Gray or BJ Mack on the floor, and Gray's defense partnered well with Mack's offense in Saturday's record-setting victory.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 2: Collin Murray-Boyles
BJ Mack wasn't the only frontcourt player who dominated for the Gamecocks against State. Freshman Collin Murray-Boyles was the best overall player on the floor.
In addition to playing really solid defense against All-SEC talent Tolu Smith, CMB added 19 points on 9-10 shooting, dished out 6 assists, and pulled down 8 rebounds. He had 2 huge blocks and 4 steals as he led the Gamecocks in 4 of the 5 major statistical categories (rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals).
Murray-Boyles was called for a couple of lame fouls, but the athletic youngster was able to play well even while dealing with foul trouble.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 3: Free Throws
The Gamecocks have not been a team that consistently gets to the free throw line and knocks down those shots (last in the league in attempts, 10th in percentage). That changed against Mississippi State.
Though going to overtime helped, Carolina shot 24 free throws, making 20 of them. That's good for 83.3% on the freebies, and USC needed all of them to knock off the Bulldogs.
Three different Gamecocks shot at least 6 free throws as BJ Mack, Meechie Johnson, and Zach Davis combined to make 16 shots from the stripe.