Men's Hoops On The Road At Alabama Saturday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (17-11, 9-6 SEC) travels to face Alabama (15-13, 7-8 SEC) in the lone matchup between the two schools this season on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.  Tip time for the matchup is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at Coleman Coliseum.

GAME INFORMATION
Arena:  Coleman Coliseum (14,474)
Broadcast: SEC Network
  Play-By-Play: Mike Morgan
  Analyst: Pat Bradley
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
  In Columbia: 107.5 The Game
  Play-By-Play: Derek Scott
  Analyst: Casey Manning
  SIRIUS: – | XM: 381 | INTERNET: 971
Watch: WatchESPN/ESPN App
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Tickets: Arena box office
Series: Alabama leads 30-16
  In Tuscaloosa: Alabama leads 16-2
  Trend: Alabama has won three straight
  Last Game: 68-62 Crimson Tide win on Feb. 26, 2019, in Columbia

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> South Carolina looks for its 10th SEC win of the 2020 campaign on Saturday when it travels to face Alabama.  The meeting is the only between the two schools this conference season.
> Carolina scored a season high 94 points in Wednesday’s overtime victory over Georgia at Colonial Life Arena.  The contest snapped a two-game losing streak for the Gamecocks, and secured the season sweep over the Bulldogs. 
> Six Gamecocks scored in double figures, including all five in the starting lineup vs. UGA.  Sophomore forward Alanzo Frink was nearly unstoppable underneath the basket, connecting on 8-of-10 attempts, along with a 6-of-9 mark at the free throw line for a career high 22 in the win.  Senior forward Maik Kotsar (19 points/10 rebounds) and sophomore forward Keyshawn Bryant (16 points/10 rebounds) both collected a double-double in the contest.
> Kotsar enters Saturday’s matchup vs. the Crimson Tide needing just eight points to become the 46th member of the South Carolina 1,000 point club.  Kotsar is having a career year in 2019-20, averaging 11.1 points per contest, while pacing the Gamecocks in rebounds (6.6), blocks (1.1) and steals (1.6) per game.
> As of Friday, Feb. 28, Carolina is 64 in the latest NET rankings.  Carolina has three Q1 wins this season – at Virginia, vs. Kentucky and at Arkansas –  and the Gamecocks are 4-2 in Q2 matchups.  Saturday’s game at Alabama is another Q1 opportunity for Carolina.
> Carolina’s six road wins are one shy of Kentucky’s seven for the most in the SEC, and are the most by a Gamecock squad since the 2016-17 Final Four team also had six road wins. 
> Lawson hit a pair of 3s in the win vs. Georgia on Wednesday, marking his 19th game this season with multiple makes from beyond the arc.
> Five Gamecocks scored in double figures for just the second time in SEC play in the matchup vs. LSU, however, the Tigers withheld a late Gamecock rally to close the 86-80 win last Saturday in Coumbia.  Carolina was held to just 37.3 percent (28-75) from the floor, and LSU hit 25-of-31 (80.6%) attempts at the free throw line in the win.
> R-junior guard Jair Bolden hit a trio of 3-pointers off the bench vs. LSU, scoring 15 points in 19 minutes of action.  It marked Bolden’s 14th double-figure scoring outing of the season, and his 13th game this season with multiple makes from 3-point range.
> In home games this season, Carolina is averaging 74.3 points per outing and 42.4 percent from the field.
> Senior forward Maik Kotsar made the 117th start of his career vs. LSU, taking sole possession of second place all-time in career starts at Carolina.  Gamecock great Sindarius Thornwell leads the category with 132 career starts.
> Since the beginning of the 2016 SEC campaign, Carolina is 32-12 (.727) in conference home contests.
> In its 17 wins, the Carolina defense is holding opponents to just 36.1 percent from the field and 25.3 percent from 3-point range.
> Martin is 33-45 (.435) against ranked opponents as a head coach. His teams have four wins over opponents ranked in the top five, and two wins over opponents who are ranked No. 1.
> The Gamecocks are 6-4 on the road this season, and are 28-37 (43.0%) in road contests dating back to the 2014-15 campaign.

THROUGH 28 GAMES …
> Sophomore guard AJ Lawson paces the Gamecocks with 13.5 points per game.  Lawson also has a team high 54 3-pointers on the year and is dishing out 1.9 assists per game.
> Kotsar is 26 rebounds away from cracking the top 10 all time in the category.  He sits at 658 for his career, and Gamecock great Sindarius Thornwell is in the 10th position with 684 career rebounds.
> The Gamecocks are holding opponents to just 39.0 percent from the floor, which is second in the SEC and 19th nationally.
> Carolina has dished at least 13 assists in 21  games, including an SEC season high 22 in the Jan. 18 road win at Texas A&M, and again vs. Georgia on Feb. 26.
> R-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard is averaging a team high 2.9 assists per game.  He has 22 games this season with two or more assists.
> Carolina has held its opponent to less than 40 percent from the field on 12 occassions, including holding Wyoming to 23.1 percent and only nine made field goals.
> The Gamecocks are 15-2 in games in which they lead at the half.
> Lawson (54), Bolden (42) and Couisnard (33) combine to account for 129 of Carolina’s 163 3-pointers on the year, 79.1 percent.
> Carolina is 10-3 in games in which Jair Bolden scores in double figures.

THE DEFENSE SHINES
> Frank Martin teams are known for their tenacious defense and the 2019-20 team is on the mark.  The Gamecocks are second in the league and rank 19th nationally, holding opponents to just 39.0% from the field.  From 3-point range, opponents have hit just 177-of-602 attempts (29.4%/4th in the SEC/26th nationally), and Carolina is forcing 15.79 turnovers per contest, second in the SEC and 37th in the nation.
 
COUPLE MORE NOTES ON THE DEFENSE
> Carolina has held 12 opponents to under 40% from the field and five of those under 30%
> 15 Gamecock opponents were held to under 30% from the field from 3-point range
> 11 opponents have been held to under 20 made field goals
> 15 opponents have committed 15+ turnovers
> Carolina is sixth in the SEC (overall games) with 4.4 blocks per game, second with 7.8 steals and second with a +2.4 turnover margin
 
KOTSAR CONTINUES STRONG SENIOR CAMPAIGN
> Forward Maik Kotsar is having a career year in his senior season. 
> Kotsar has led or shared the team lead in scoring nine times this season, including in five of Carolina’s SEC games.  He has also scored in double figures a career high 19 times.
> Kotsar is currently in a career-best streak of nine straight games scoring in double figures.  During the stretch, Kotsar is averaging 15.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.9 steals per game.
> In SEC games, Kotsar is averaging 12.4 points, and team highs of 7.3 rebounds (7th in the SEC), 1.7 steals (5th) and 1.3 blocks (8th) per game.
> Kotsar continues to be the SEC’s active leader with 658 career rebounds, and he is third among active players, and the leading forward with 131 career steals.
> Kotsar is 10 steals away from matching Gamecock great Carlos Powell in career steals for 10th all time in the Garnet and Black (141).
> Kotsar is one of only two in the SEC (conference games only) to be ranked in the top 10 in both rebounds (team high 7.3 per game/7th in the SEC) and steals (team high 1.7 per outing/5th).
 
MINAYA STRONG IN LEAGUE PLAY
> Prior to suffering a hand/wrist injury in the Feb. 1 Missouri contest, r-sophomore forward Justin Minaya was playing strong on both ends of the court for the Gamecocks in SEC action.  In his eight league games, Minaya is averaging 8.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per outing.  He has four double-figure outings in SEC action, including a career high 18 points in the Jan. 18 road win at Texas A&M.  Additionally his 31.1 minutes played in SEC games is a team high.
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
> Alabama is led by head coach Nate Oats in his first season in Tuscaloosa.  Prior to his time at Alabama, Oats was the head coach at Buffalo for four seasons.
> Alabama is 15-13 overall this season and 7-8 in SEC action.  The Tide most recently suffered an 80-73 loss at Mississippi State on Tuesday.
> Three average double figures for Alabama, led by sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr.’s 17.9 points per game.  Lewis also paces the team and is third in the SEC with 5.1 assists per game.
> In home games, Alabama is 9-4, with a 4-3 mark in SEC home games.
> John Petty Jr. (15.0) and Jaden Shackelford (14.9) also average double figures this season. 
> Alabama averages 31.1 3-point field goal attempts per game, and their total of 872 attempts from beyond the arc is an SEC high and ranks third nationally.
> Petty’s 45.0 percent from 3-point range leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally.
 
FRANK MARTIN
> South Carolina head coach Frank Martin is in his eighth season leading the Gamecocks and 13th season overall as a head coach in 2019-20.  Martin, the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year (CollegeInsider.com), led South Carolina to its first Final Four and a school record 26 wins in 2016-17.  In his 12 complete seasons as a head coach, Martin has led his teams to at least 21 wins seven times.  Martin is a native of Miami, Fla., and a graduate of FIU.
> Prior to his time on the sidelines in the college ranks, Martin spent 15 years in high school coaching in Miami, Fla., including the last seven as a head coach. He was part of five state championships as an assistant at Miami Senior High School (1985-93), before earning two titles as the program’s head coach (1995-98). Highlighting Martin’s stint as the head coach of the program were consecutive 30-win seasons and consecutive Florida 6A State Championships in 1996 and 1997, with his 1997 squad earning a 36-1 overall record and ranking No. 4 in the USA Today Top 25 Poll. He also served as the head coach at North Miami Senior High School (1993-95) and one season at Booker T. Washington High School (1999-2000).
> Among active Division I head coaches, South Carolina’s Frank Martin holds the eighth-highest (tied with Villanova’s Jay Wright) NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.667) behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Texas Tech’s Chris Beard, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Kansas’ Bill Self and Virginia’s Tony Bennett.
 
NOTES TO KNOW
> South Carolina is led by eighth-year head coach Frank Martin.  Martin, the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, owns a 262-171 record in his 13th season as a head coach, and a 145-117 record in his eighth season at Carolina.
> Joining Martin on the sidelines is a veteran staff, including assistant coaches Perry Clark (seventh season), Chuck Martin (third season) and Bruce Shingler (fourth season), director of basketball operations Andy Assaley (eighth season) and strength and conditioning coach Scott Greenawalt (eighth season), and several support staff members.
> South Carolina returns a core group from last season’s squad, while welcoming seven newcomers to Columbia, including five freshmen – Trey Anderson, Jalyn McCreary, Trae Hannibal, Wildens Leveque and Mike Green, transfer Seventh Woods (North Carolina/not eligible this season due to NCAA transfer rules) and graduate transfer Micaiah Henry (Tennessee Tech/immediately eligible).
> Carolina’s top returning scorer, and 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team honoree, is sophomore guard AJ Lawson, who scored 13.4 points per outing last season, while dishing 2.9 assists per game.  Over the summer, Lawson competed for Team Canada at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece, leading the Canadians with 16.7 points per outing, including an event-high 31 points vs. Senegal.
> South Carolina returns 43.9 percent of scoring from a year ago, 48.3 percent of its made field goals, and 45.7 percent of its rebounding, following the graduation of All-SEC forward Chris Silva, who led the Gamecocks with 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and 150 made field goals last season.
> Sophomore guard AJ Lawson is Carolina’s top returning scorer after contributing 13.4 points per outing last season.  Lawson, who was named to the Jerry West Award Watch List in October, posted 18 double-figure scoring games last season, including six 20-point performances.
> Sophomore guard AJ Lawson posted his fourth 20-point game of the season with a game-high 24 on eight bade baskets and six made free throws in the win at UMass. 
> The Gamecocks suffered a home loss to Houston on Dec. 8.  The Carolina offense hit just 32.3 percent from the field, and the Cougars claimed the road win.  Senior forward Maik Kotsar led Carolina with 12 points, and sophomore guard AJ Lawson added 10 in the loss.  Carolina hit six 3s vs. Houston, it’s highest output from beyond the arc since hitting 7-of-19 attempts from range vs. Northern Iowa. 
> Carolina claimed a Palmetto Series point with a big road win over instrastate rival and ACC opponent Clemson Dec. 15 at Littlejohn Coliseum.  The 67-54 victory snapped a three-game Tiger win streak in the series, and was Carolina’s first at Littlejohn since 2011. 
> In that Clemson victory, sophomore guard AJ Lawson scored a team high 20, along with 11 from senior forward Maik Kotsar and 10 from r-junior guard Jair Bolden to round out the Gamecocks in double figures.  The 20-point effort was the fifth of its kind this season for Lawson, who is 11th in the SEC and leads the squad with 16.3 points per outing thus far.
> Prior to the break for the holidays, Carolina upset No. 9 Virginia in Charlottesville with a 70-59 victory on Dec. 22.  The win improved the Gamecocks to 3-0 on the road this season, and it snapped a 22-game home non-conference win streak for the Cavaliers.
> R-junior guard Jair Bolden led four Gamecocks in double figures vs. UVA with a season high 22 points on eight made field goals, including four makes from 3-point range.  AJ Lawson (14), Justin Minaya (12) and Keyshawn Bryant (10) also posted double figures in the win.
> Bolden was named the SEC’s co-Player of the Week following his standout performance vs. Virginia.  It marked Bolden’s first weekly award as a Gamecock.
> The victory on the road vs. the Cavaliers was Carolina’s first on the road over a top 10 opponent since an 81-78 victory at No. 8/8 Texas A&M on Feb. 6, 2016.
> Carolina suffered a 63-56 loss to Stetson in the non-conference finale on Dec. 30.  Only Maik Kotsar (11 points) registered double figures, and the Gamecocks connected on just 20-of-54 (37.0%) attempts from the floor and only 12-of-24 (50.0%) attempts at the free throw line.
> South Carolina suffered an 81-68 loss at home to Florida in its SEC opener on Jan. 7.  Senior forward Maik Kotsar continued his strong play, pacing the Gamecocks with team highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
> South Carolina suffered a 56-55 loss at Tennessee Jan. 11 in its first SEC road contest of the season.  Senior forward Maik Kotsar concluded a monster week with a 17-point, eight-rebound performance, and r-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard led all bench scorers with 15. 
> South Carolina collected its first win of the 2020 SEC campaign on Jan. 15, as r-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard sank a long 3-point buzzer-beater to give the Gamecocks an 81-78 upset win over No. 10/12 Kentucky at Colonial Life Arena.  The win was Carolina’s second this season over a top-10 opponent.
> Couisnard led four Gamecocks in double figures with a season high 26 in the win over UK.  TJ Moss added 10, his first double-figure outing of the season, Justin Minaya scored 11 and sophomore forward Keyshawn Bryant had a season high 15 points.
> South Carolina saw its three-game win streak come to an end on when it suffered an 84-70 loss on the road at Ole Miss on Feb. 5.  Breein Tyree led the Rebels with 38 points on 12 made baskets in the win. 
> R-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard continued his hot streak on the offensive end, scoring a season high 28 vs. Ole Miss.  It was his second 20-point game of the year.  He connected on eight field goals, one shy of matching his season high, and hit a season best nine free throws.  He made six of his eight field goals in the second half.  Couisnard paces the Gamecocks in SEC action with 16.1 points per game. 
> Kotsar had a strong outing against the Rebels as well, especially in the first half when he scored 12 of his 19 points.  Kotsar also led the Gamecocks in rebounds (8), blocks (3) and steals (3) on Wednesday.
> For his efforts Feb. 5 vs. Ole Miss, when he scored a season high 28 points, and his 19-point performance in last the Feb. 8 home win over A&M, Jermaine Couisnard was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. 
> South Carolina captured its sixth road win of the season when it defeated Georgia 75-59 in Athens on Feb. 12.  The Gamecocks held the Bulldogs to just one field goal in the first 14 minutes of the game to build a double-digit lead they would never give up.  Sophomore guard AJ Lawson led four Gamecocks in double figures with a game high 20 points.
> A crucial steal, followed by four straight makes at the free throw line in the final 23 seconds by senior forward Maik Kotsar would be the difference in Carolina’s 63-61 home win over Tennessee on Feb. 15.  Kotsar led the Gamecocks with 13 points and eight rebounds, and the senior secured Carolina’s eighth SEC win of the season.
> The numbers show just how close of a contest it was vs. the Vols – both teams with 20 baskets, both with four 3-pointers, and the difference was Carolina’s 19 makes at the charity stripe compared to 17 by the Vols.  Kotsar was 7-of-8 at the line for Carolina and R-freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard was 7-of-11, as the duo accounted for 14 of Carolina’s makes at the line.
> South Carolina saw its three-game win streak halted when it suffered a 79-76 loss at Mississippi State (Feb. 19).  Senior forward Maik Kotsar scored a season high 24 points – just one shy of matching his career high – on a career high 11 made field goals vs. the Bulldogs.  Jermaine Couisnard (17) and AJ Lawson (12) were also in double figures in the loss.
 
MORE NUMBERS
8 – Senior forward Maik Kotsar enters Saturday’s contest at Alabama in need of just eight points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career in the Garnet and Black. 
16/10 – Sophomore forward Keyshawn Bryant scored 16 and matched Kotsar with a team high 10 rebounds in the OT win over Georgia on Wednesday.  It marked his second straight double-double, after he posted the first of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. LSU last Saturday.
22 – Sophomore forward Alanzo Frink scored a career high 22 points on 8-of-10 field goals and a 6-of-9 mark at the charity stripe vs. Georgia.  He also matched a career high with three blocks vs. the Bulldogs.
10+ – Depth is a strength for Carolina this season, and 11 different Gamecocks are averaging at least 10 minutes per contest.
70+ – SC is 14-5 this season when it scores 70+ points.

THROWBACK JERSEYS
> South Carolina debuted its throwback jerseys for the first time this season for the Dec. 8 matchup vs. Houston.  Fans can visit the official online store at GamecocksOnline.com to purchase the full line of throwback gear. 
> The uniforms are inspired by the look of the uniforms from the 1970’s era of Gamecock basketball. 
> The Gamecocks got their first win in their throwback uniforms in the upset victory over No. 10/12 Kentucky on Jan. 15 and posted wins in the uniforms vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 25 and Missouri on Feb. 2.

COMING UP NEXT
> Carolina returns to Colonial Life Arena to host Mississippi State on Tuesday on Senior Night.  Tom Hart (play-by-play), Andy Kennedy (analyst) and Alyssa Lang (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network broadcast set for a 6 p.m. ET tipoff.