Dec. 30, 2004

Less than 48 hours removed from a four point loss at No. 10 Pittsburgh (68-72), USC returns for a 6 pm showdown with Wofford on New Year’s Eve to finish off the non-conference slate. The game will be shown on C-SET featuring Gary Williams (play by play) and Lane Odom (color analyst). As its last non-conference game of the year, South Carolina will open the SEC season at Rupp Arena on Wednes., Jan. 5.

Good seats remain at $10 each and can be purchased at The Colonial Center.

What others think

In the latest Sportline Top 25 poll USC is ranked No. 23 (Dec. 29). In the latest RPI rankings (Dec. 29), USC is ranked No. 22 (old RPI) and No. 36 (new RPI). Its strength of schedule on collegerpi.com ranks as the 22nd best in the country. In the Dec. 29 Sagarin rankings, USC is ranked No. 52 and its strength of schedule is ranked No. 117.

USC vs. Them

USC is 38-18 all-time against the Terriers and 26-8 in Columbia. USC has won 19 in a row against Wofford. The last Wofford win came in Spartanburg when the Terriers took a 33-31 win in the 1938-39 season. The two teams split that year with Carolina taking a 34-31 win in Columbia.

Wofford’s last win in Columbia came during the 1931-32 season. During the 19 game winning streak, three games have been decided by 10 points or less with two of them being the games in the 1938-39 season and the 1941-42 season.

A Quick Overview of the Terriers

The Wofford basketball team returns to action for the first time since Dec. 19 when it faces South Carolina. The Gamecocks represent the Terriers’ fourth and final opponent from the SEC this season. Wofford has already defeated Auburn (8578, Dec. 5) while suffering close losses to Tennessee (73-67, Nov. 29) and Georgia (93-89, OT, Dec. 19). Wofford will have played just two games in the last 19 days when it takes the court at USC. After defeating Appalachian State (Dec. 11), the Terriers took a week off for final exams. Wofford then played consecutive days at Charleston Southern and Georgia (Dec. 18-19) before breaking for Christmas.

For the eighth time in their 10 seasons on the Division I level, the Terriers are facing USC. Wofford has dropped 19 consecutive decisions to the Gamecocks with its last win coming in 1938-39 (33-31).

The Terriers have already defeated a Gamecock squad this season, posting an 81-76 win over Jacksonville State (Dec. 1).

Use to be

Wofford senior guard Greg Taylor will be facing his former school. Taylor played his first two years at South Carolina. Per NCAA transfer rules, he sat out the 2002-03 campaign and is now in his second season with the Terriers.

December

USC is 4-3 this season in the month of December, with two of the three losses coming at #2 Kansas and at #10 Pittsburgh. The Gamecocks lost those two games by a combined eight points on the ranked teams home court. The other loss was against Clemson in overtime. The Tigers hit a last second shot to win the game by one. The three losses were by a combined nine points. In the Gamecock wins, USC didn’t just walk away with those games as all but one was decided by six points or less.

Wofford’s the last

With Wofford being the last in-state foe the Gamecocks will face this season, it can be pointed out that Coach Odom has dominated the state of South Carolina in basketball. The head coach is 54-9 overall against all teams in the state of South Carolina — with its only losses coming to in-state rival Clemson. That total includes one game against the Gamecocks as well. The most wins come against Clemson as Odom is 22-9 against the Tigers and is 31-0 against the rest of South Carolina.

Don’t shoot around him

Brandon Wallace has been a blocking machine as of last as he has blocked 10 shots in his last three games. Wallace had four blocks against East Carolina, three against SC State and added three blocks at No. 10 Pittsburgh. Wallace also grabbed 10 boards in the win over SC State. The 10 rebounds are one shy of his career high that came against the Citadel on December 3, 2003 when he collected 11 boards in his first career start.

Member’s Only

Ahh – his first top 10 career list. Carlos Powell had three steals at No. 10 Pitt, enought to pass Mike Boynton, Jr., who collected 115 steals in his four-year career and sat at No. 10 on the list. Powell now has 116 career steals.

The Western Carolina game was senior Carlos Powell’s 100th of his career as he has now played in 109 career games. The record for career games played in at USC is 125 by Boynton.

Powell is No. 25 on the career points scored list with 1147 points. To move to No. 20 he needs 1,251 points (Joe Smith). To move to No. 15 he needs 1,345 points (Nate Davis). To move to No. 10 he needs 1,439 points (Jo Jo English). BJ McKie holds the record for most points scored at 2,119.

Against Temple, he scored at least 20 points (22) for the seventh time in his career (career high: 23 points at Clemson last season). He had the sixth double-double of his career when he collected 13 points and 10 rebounds at No. 2 Kansas and then the seventh vs. South Carolina State two games later when he collected 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs.

Powell also has his eye on a number of USC top 10 career lists. They include:

Stat Record Place CP Now (Place)

Games Played 125, Boynton 1 109

Points Scored 1439, English 10 1147 (25th)

Rebounds 669, Wallace 10 496

Steals 127, Rich 9 (next) 116 (10th)