Jan. 4, 2009

South Carolina vs. Wofford | 7 p.m.

| Live Audio | Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
South Carolina vs. Wofford College

Date: Monday, January 5, 2009
Tipoff: 7:03:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: South Carolina leads, 39-18
Television: SportSouth (Time Warner Columbia, ch. 21)
Dave Neal (play-by-play), Eddie Fogler (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Casey Manning (analyst)
Tickets: Tickets remain at the Gamecock ticket office. Call 803-777-4274 or online at www.GamecocksOnline.com.

Game Preview
South Carolina (10-2) returns to the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena to host Wofford College (4-5) in its final non-conference contest of the season. The Gamecocks are fresh off an 85-84 upset victory over No. 19 Baylor last Friday, while Wofford enters the contest on a two-game skid, having most recently lost to Navy, 70-75, on Jan. 2. Monday’s meeting between the two schools marks the 59th all-time. The meeting also marks the first for Carolina head coach Darrin Horn against the Terriers.

Television Information
Monday’s contest will be televised by SportSouth with Dave Neal calling play-by-play and Eddie Fogler, former South Carolina head coach (1994-2001) handling color analyst duties. SportSouth, the nation’s sixth-largest regional sports network, reaches more than nine million cable and satellite homes across a six-state region. Through its affiliates and other Fox Networks Group-owned networks, FSN reaches more than 70 million homes through 16 owned-and-operated networks. The contest against Wofford marks the 11th of 22 televised South Carolina contests this season, including 14 home matchups.

Radio Broadcast Information
The game will be broadcast on the ISP Gamecock Radio Network with Mike Morgan on the call with play-by-play and Casey Manning handling color analyst duties. The Gamecock Radio Network reaches throughout the state of South Carolina.

Series Information – Wofford
South Carolina owns a 39-18 advantage in the all-time series with Wofford. The Gamecocks have won the last 20 contests in the series, with 15 of those meetings in Columbia. Monday’s contest marks the first meeting between the two schools since the 2005-06 season. Carolina won that contest 73-43 behind Brandon Wallace’s 13 points and 10 rebounds. The last Wofford victory in the series came on Feb. 17, 1939 when the Terriers claimed a 33-31 win on their home court.

Scouting Wofford
Wofford enters Monday’s game with a 4-5 overall record after its most recent loss, a 70-75 decision at Navy on Jan. 2. The Terriers have played one similar opponent to the Gamecocks in Clemson (40-93 loss, Nov. 19) this season.

Junior guard Junior Salters’ 17.3 points per game leads just two Terriers averaging double figures (Noah Dahlman, 14.9 ppg). Salters has led Wofford in scoring five times this season, including a career high 28 points in Wofford’s victory over Air Force on Nov. 23, 2008. Salters missed the Navy contest due to injury and is listed as a game-time decision for Monday’s game.

Sophomore forward Noah Dahlman, whose brother is a junior member of the Michigan State basketball team, had led the Terriers in scoring four times this season, including the most recent outing against Navy where he contributed 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor.

Sophomore forward Tim Johnson leads the squad with 9.4 rebounds per contest. Johnson also averages 9.9 points per game. He collected a career high 16 rebounds in Wofford’s loss at Navy on Friday.

South Carolina’s point production and stifling defense will give Wofford trouble on the court. Keep an eye on the 6-5 Johnson against Gamecock big man Mike Holmes underneath the basket in the battle for rebounds.

Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina enters Monday’s contest against Wofford with a 10-2 overall record after upsetting No. 19 Baylor on the road last Friday. Monday’s game marks the final non-conference regular season game of the year for Carolina.

Junior guard Devan Downey continues to impress. Downey – who has tallied 60 combined points in his last two outings (37 vs. Clemson, 23 vs. Baylor) – leads the squad with 20.8 points per game, while he also contributes 4.4 assists and 3.3 steals. Downey is on pace for a record-setting season, as he has already cracked the Carolina top-10 list for career steals (7th, 143) and currently holds the top spot for highest career steal average at 3.2 steals per game.

Senior guard Zam Fredrick has been a major contributor for Carolina in recent outings as he has tallied 19 points in back-to-back games (Clemson, Baylor). Keep and eye on junior guard Brandis Raley-Ross who is back to full speed after a knee injury that kept him out at length earlier this season. Raley-Ross averages 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game entering Monday’s contest against Wofford.

Junior forward Dominique Archie has found himself in foul trouble since Carolina’s return from the holiday break. Archie has fouled out of consecutive contests (Clemson, Baylor) but has managed 10 points in each of those games.

Sophomore forward Mike Holmes has tallied double-digit point totals in his last five games, including a career high 19 in the victory over Presbyterian (12/23). Holmes leads Carolina with 8.8 rebounds per game.

South Carolina holds an edge in several statistical categories over the Terriers, but keep an eye on each team’s 3-point field goal production, as both squads average nearly 6.5 made 3’s per game.

Gamecocks Upset No. 19 Baylor
South Carolina began 2009 with an impressive 85-84 upset victory of No. 19 Baylor on Jan. 2. The win marked South Carolina’s first victory over a ranked opponent since Feb. 2, 2008 when the Gamecocks upset then-No. 24 Ole Miss, 80-77, in SEC play. Downey led all scorers with 23 points against Baylor. Zam Fredrick’s lay-up with just over five seconds remaining in the game proved the game-winning basket in the one-point Carolina win. South Carolina held LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor’s top scorer entering the game, to just nine points on 1-of-4 shooting (6-6 free throw) in the contest. All Big-12 guard Curtis Jerrells led the Bears with 22 points and a game-best 10 assists.