South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from road win against Texas A&M

South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 1: Meechie Johnson, Zach Davis, and Ta'Lon Cooper

The Gamecocks' starting 1-3 were great on Wednesday.

Meechie Johnson finished the game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ta'Lon Cooper's final line read 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. Zach Davis set a new career-high (beating the career-high he set on Saturday) by scoring 16 points and added 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

For the game, those 3 players combined to score 49 points, grab 16 rebounds, and dish out 14 assists. They also had just 4 turnovers and 7 fouls in a foul-fest of a basketball game.

Meechie Johnson looked "back," Ta'Lon Cooper was as steady as ever, and Zach Davis continued to build off of the offensive strides he's taken in recent games.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 2: Post-Halftime Run

In non-typical South Carolina basketball fashion, Lamont Paris' came out of halftime with pace. The Gamecocks scored 6 points in the opening 80 seconds to put USC up by 9 points. The scoring spurt didn't stop there, though, as Meechie Johnson hit a 3-pointer to go up 10, and the Gamecocks needed those points as A&M went on a run later in the half.

South Carolina Basketball vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Thumbs Up 3: Defending Wade Taylor

Against Texas A&M, most teams struggle to contain Wade Taylor and Tyrece Radford. Radford had a pretty good day against the Gamecocks, but Lamont Paris' crew did a great job defending Taylor.

For the game, the preseason SEC Player of the Year went just 4-14 from the field, including 0-7 from behind the 3-point arc. A lot of scoring (7 of his 15 points) came at the free throw line after imaginary fouls sent him to the charity stripe. Taylor also only managed 4 assists despite how often he was handling the ball.