South Carolina basketball fans have had to endure a lot of talk about how the Gamecocks hadn't beaten many good teams so far in the 2023-2024 season. Despite beating quality opponents like Grand Canyon, Virginia Tech, George Washington, and East Carolina, critics argued that USC wouldn't do well in conference play against a deep Southeastern Conference.
So far, so good for Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks.
The game started off ugly as the Bulldogs shoved the Gamecocks around in the paint in the first few minutes and led 11-3. During that early run, Coach Paris took out starting post players Stephen Clark and BJ Mack and inserted Josh Gray and Collin Murray-Boyles.
The move paid off as the two reserves played physically and provided the wake-up call needed for Clark and Mack. They physicality was much better for the garnet and black the rest of the way, and the Gamecocks actually outrebounded the Bulldogs by 9 for the game.
Myles Stute scored 13 points in a row from the end of the 1st half through the start of the 2nd, and then Meechie Johnson took over to preserve USC's small lead.
Johnson finished with a game-high 24 points despite only taking 12 shot attempts from the field, and he tied for the team lead with 6 rebounds (that mark was tied with Mack and Stute).
Mississippi State got some good performances from Tolu Smith, Josh Hubbard, and Shakeel Moore, but they couldn't overcome their lack of outside shooting and the fouls that piled up against them.
The Gamecocks won the contest 68-62 to start their SEC season 1-0.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 1: Meechie Johnson
When thinking of the positives from the Gamecocks' victory over Mississippi State, one has to start with Meechie Johnson. The USC shooting guard took just 12 shots from the field but still scored 24 points. Shooting 6-12/3-7/9-11, Johnson took over in the second half and wanted the ball in the game's biggest moments. He also had a key defensive play, stealing the ball from Dashawn Davis late in the game, leading to more free throws down the stretch. 6 rebounds also tied for the team lead.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 2: Myles Stute
Mississippi State led for most of the 1st half, but a Myles Stute 3-pointer gave the Gamecocks a 2-point lead right before halftime. The sharpshooting wing then scored the first 11 points of the 2nd half, meaning he had 13 of his 15 points in one stretch of Gamecock scoring. Stute shot 3-5 from outside and 6-11 from the field, including several finishes at the rim that came off of aggressive back cuts. Stute tied with Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack for the team lead in rebounding (6), and he played good defense on Mississippi State's bigger forwards.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Up 3: Ramping Up the Physicality
The Gamecocks got physically dominated in the early few minutes of this game. DJ Jeffries, Jimmy Bell, Cameron Matthews, and Tolu Smith shoved around BJ Mack and Stephen Clark until Coach Paris yanked his starting forwards out of the game. Josh Gray and Collin Murray-Boyles came in and instantly played with toughness.
Gray wasn't great in his three minutes, but he played hard, and Murray-Boyles did the same and had some more success. The tone was set, and the rest of the Gamecocks began playing with increased toughness. For the game, South Carolina ended up winning the rebounding battle (35-26), drew more fouls (23-15), and had 10 more second-chance points (16-6).
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Down 1: BJ Mack
BJ Mack continues to struggle on offense. The big forward shot just 1-9 from the floor and made just 3 of his 6 free throws. He took several bad shots and didn't make his open looks, either. He has not scored in double-figures in his last five games, and he has shot better than 50% just once (a 3-3 game against Florida A&M) since December 1st.
To his credit, Mack had one of his better defensive games since joining the South Carolina basketball team this season, but the Gamecocks need him to be better on offense if they hope to contend for the NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Down 2: No Scoring from Non-Meechie Guards
Pretty much all of the Gamecocks' scoring on Saturday came from Meechie Johnson and Carolina's wings and power forwards. The three guards who played (other than Johnson) really struggled to put the ball into the basket.
Ta'Lon Cooper (1-6), Jacobi Wright (1-4), and Morris Ugusuk (0-2) all couldn't get going as scorers. Cooper helped out the cause with 7 assists, but more points will be needed (especially from Cooper) as SEC play continues.
South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Thumbs Down 3: Free Throws and Turnovers
South Carolina has been one of the country's best teams at avoiding turnovers, and they've shot free throws better than they have in most recent seasons. Those trends did not continue against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Gamecocks shot under 70% from the line (18-26), including two clutch misses from Ta'Lon Cooper that could have iced the game. They also had 14 turnovers as a team. That isn't a horrible number, but it's worse than Carolina's season average, and those giveaways directly led to 11 points for the Bulldogs. The sloppiness should get better moving forward.