Feb. 6, 2009

South Carolina vs. Georgia | 5 p.m.

| Live Audio | Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
South Carolina vs. Georgia

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tipoff: 5 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Georgia leads 46-44
Series Trend: Georgia has won one
Television: Fox Sports South
Dave Neal (play-by-play), Eddie Fogler (analyst)
Internet: ESPN360.com
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Casey Manning (analyst)

Game Preview
South Carolina (16-5, 5-3 SEC) will host Georgia (9-13, 0-7 SEC) on Saturday in its first SEC home contest since playing two consecutive games on the road. South Carolina is tied with Kentucky for third place in the SEC East entering Saturday’s game. Georgia, led by interim head coach Pete Herrmann, looks to snap a nine-game losing streak. Gamecock head coach Darrin Horn holds a 2-1 all-time record against the Bulldogs.

Series Information
Georgia holds a slight 46-44 lead in the all-time series with the Gamecocks. South Carolina holds a 27-15 advantage in games played in Columbia.

Television Information
The contest versus Georgia will be televised on Fox Sports South with Dave Neal calling play-by-play and Eddie Fogler handling color analyst duties. The contest against Georgia marks the 18th of 22 regular-season televised games for South Carolina.

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.

Scouting Georgia
• Georgia has struggled this season after clinching the SEC Tournament title last March and advancing to the “big dance.” The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s contest with a 9-13 overall record and are winless in league play with a 0-7 mark. Georgia rides a nine-game winless streak into Colonial Life Arena on Saturday.

• The Bulldogs are led by interim head coach Pete Herrmann. He is 0-2 thus far with Georgia. He was previously the head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy (1987-1992), where he helped lead the David Robinson led squad to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm of the program.

• Senior guard Terrance Woodbury leads just two Bulldogs in double figures for the season at 13.3 points per game. Woodbury adds 4.3 rebounds per outing.

• Freshman forward Trey Thompkins also registers double digits with 13.0 points per contest. He adds a team-best 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Thompkins has four 20-point scoring efforts this season.

• During its current nine-game losing streak, Georgia is averaging a meager 61.1 points per game. Georgia was held to just 40 points in the loss at Vanderbilt and followed that with a 45-point effort in a home loss against Kentucky.

• The Bulldogs rank last in the SEC in both scoring offense and field goal percentage.

Scouting South Carolina
• South Carolina enters Saturday’s contest with a 16-5 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in SEC play. Carolina is tied for third in the SEC East with Kentucky. The Gamecocks look to win their fifth-straight league contest at home against Georgia on Saturday.

• Junior point guard Devan Downey leads four Gamecocks in double figures with 20.4 points per game. He also leads the squad with 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals per outing. Downey recently posted his 1,000th career point as a Gamecock in Tuesday’s loss to Florida. He tallied a game-best 33 points in the contest. He drilled three 3’s in the final 57 seconds of the game and added a layup for a total of 11 points in the final minute of play. Downey is the reigning SEC Player of the Week.

• Senior guard Zam Fredrick adds 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Fredrick has tallied double digits in seven of eight SEC games this season, including 17 points in the loss at Florida on Tuesday. Fredrick averages 17.4 points in strictly conference play.

• Junior forward Dominique Archie continues to post solid numbers for the Gamecocks. He provides 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Archie has posted five double-digit point games in league play this season, including 16 in the loss at Florida on Tuesday.

• Sophomore forward Mike Holmes and sophomore center Sam Muldrow have proven they’re a threat to opponents on both ends of the court. Holmes averages 11.1 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per contest, while Muldrow adds 5.3 points and 5.1 boards per game. Holmes added 10 points while Muldrow posted six points and collected eight rebounds against Florida on Tuesday.

Operation Sellout
The Gamecock Athletics Department deemed Saturday’s game against Georgia as an “Operation Sellout” with the goal of selling out Colonial Life Arena for the first time this season. There is only one recorded sellout in the history of Colonial Life Arena for men’s basketball games. That sellout occurred on March 3, 2004 against Kentucky.

Downey Earns SEC Player Of The Week Award
Devan Downey was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in leading the Gamecocks to wins over Vanderbilt and at Kentucky. Downey tallied 18 points, while adding four assists and a team-best three steals in the Gamecock victory over Vanderbilt last Wednesday. Downey backed that up with one of his top performances of the season in Carolina’s upset of then-No. 24 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Saturday when he tallied 23 points, four assists and four steals in the victory. With three seconds left, he nailed a turnaround jumper to give the Gamecocks the one-point victory. The award is the first for a Gamecock player this season.

Downey Hits 1,000 As A Gamecock
Junior point guard Devan Downey tallied his 1,000th career point (including freshman year total from Cincinnati) in South Carolina’s season-opening win over Jacksonville State. The standout guard officially made his way into the Gamecock record book on Feb. 3 against Florida. Entering the game, Downey needed just 16 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in the Garnet and Black. Downey tallied 33 points, including 11 points in the final minute of the game, to surpass the career mark. Downey became the 41st player in Gamecock history to record at least 1,000 points.

20-win Season In Sight
South Carolina is on pace for its first 20-win season since the 2005-06 campaign. With eight regular-season games remaining, South Carolina secured at least a winning record in the regular season after capturing its 16th win of the campaign versus Vanderbilt on Jan. 28.

Downey Sparks Unbelievable Finish
South Carolina was on the ESPN family of networks for the first time this season in its loss at Florida on Tuesday. Despite the loss, it was an excellent showing on the “World Wide Leader In Sports” for the Gamecocks, especially Devan Downey. While Zam Fredrick poured in 17 points and collected nine rebounds – a career high – and Dominique Archie added 16 points and eight rebounds, Devan Downey scored 11 points – in the final 57 seconds of the game. Downey finished with a game-high 33 points. His 11 points in the final minute of the contest gave the Gamecocks for a chance to win their second-consecutive SEC road contest – a tough feat in a tough conference.

Gamecocks Out-Rebound Gators
South Carolina out-rebounded Florida 45-39 in the matchup between the two schools on Tuesday night in primetime on ESPN. It marked the first time since accomplishing the feat against Presbyterian on Dec. 23 – a span of 10 games. (South Carolina matched Wofford with 29 rebounds each (Jan. 10), while also matching Florida on Jan. 21 with 33 rebounds each.)