Men's Basketball . February 27, 2018

Gamecocks Host LSU On Senior Night Wednesday

Feb. 27, 2018

South Carolina vs. LSU

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina hosts LSU on Wednesday in its final regular season home contest of the 2017-18 campaign. Carolina will celebrate two senior managers two student-athletes and a student assistant coach for Senior Night, with festivities beginning at 6:10 p.m. on the court.

STARTING FIVE

> South Carolina begins the final week of regular season play with a Wednesday home contest vs. LSU, marking the first meeting between the two schools this season. Carolina currently sits in 12th place in the league standings with a 6-10 record in conference contests.
> Junior guard Hassani Gravett erupted for a career high 19 points, hitting a personal best eight shots, but the Gamecocks were out-scored 10-6 in overtime and suffered a 72-68 loss at Mississippi State. Gravett also dished three assists, marking his 17th game with three or more assists this season.
> Junior forward Chris Silva posted his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and a game high 12 rebounds at Mississippi State. The 12 boards were just one shy of matching his career high, which he set with 13 in last season’s Final Four contest vs. Gonzaga.
> After struggling from the field mid-way through the season, the Gamecocks have hit 40 percent or better in four of the last six contests, including connecting on 44.1 percent from the field (26-59) at Mississippi State.
> After being out-rebounded in each of their four previous contests, South Carolina held a +10 advantage on the boards at MSU, pulling down 40, compared to just 30 by the Bulldogs. Silva, sophomore forward Maik Kotsar (7) and rookie forwards Justin Minaya (6) and Felipe Haase (6) combined for 31 of Carolina’s 40 on the glass.

SENIOR NIGHT

> South Carolina will honor five on Senior Night on Wednesday in senior managers Steven LaPlante and Jason Schick, senior student-athletes Frank Booker and Wesley Myers, and student assistant coach TeMarcus Blanton. Senior Night festivities will begin at 6:10 p.m.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

> South Carolina is 15-14 overall this season and 6-10 in SEC contests.
> Carolina will play Wednesday’s final home game of the regular season vs. LSU, before traveling to No. 14/15 Auburn for the regular-season finale on Saturday.
> Four Gamecocks tallied double figures in the narrow OT loss at Mississippi State, including junior guard Hassani Gravett‘s career high 19.
> In SEC games this season, junior forward Chris Silva‘s 15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game pace Carolina. Graduate student guard Frank Booker is also in double figures at 12.0 points per game against SEC competition.
> Silva ranks 30th nationally and third in the SEC with 3.17 offensive rebounds per game. He led the Gamecocks in the category with five at Mississippi State.
> In home games this season, Carolina holds a +3.9 scoring margin over opponents and a +2.5 rebound margin.
> Silva’s 15.2 points per home game lead the team.
> Seven different Gamecocks average 6.1 points or more.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

> LSU is 16-12 and 7-9 in SEC contests under first-year head coach Will Wade.
> Rookie guard Tremont Waters paces three in double figures with 15.6 points per game. He also leads the team in SEC games with 14.4 points per outing.
> Waters is second in the SEC and 27th nationally with 5.8 assists per game in overall games this season. In league games, he is averaging 5.4 per contest.
> LSU is 3-6 in road games this season and 2-6 in SEC road games with wins at Texas A&M and Arkansas.
> The Tigers haven’t won a road SEC contest since the Arkansas win on Jan. 10.
> LSU averages 74.0 percent from the free throw line this season, which is fourth in the SEC.
> Waters leads the SEC and is 23rd nationally with 2.1 steals per game this season.

MORE ABOUT THE SENIORS

> Below is a closer look at each of our Senior Night honorees:

Manager, Steven LaPlante: a native of Richmond, Va., LaPlante is in his third season serving as a manager for the Gamecocks.
Manager, Jason Schick: a native of Atlanta, Ga., Schick is in his second second serving as a manager for the Gamecocks.
Graduate student guard, Wesley Myers: Myers is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. He has tallied 10 double-figure scoring games this season, including a season high 22 points in leading the Gamecocks to an upset win at No. 20 Florida in late January. Myers hit a career high five 3-pointer in that win over the Gators, and he hit the mark again in Carolina’s home win over Georgia, en route to a 15-point performance.
Graduate student guard, Frank Booker: Booker hails from Augusta, Ga., and was born in Iceland. Leading the Gamecocks from beyond the arc this season, Booker is ninth in the SEC with 2.2 3-pointers made per game, and is just three away from cracking the Carolina top-10 for a single season in made 3s. His six makes from beyond the arc in the SEC opener at Ole Miss marked a career high, and his 25 points scored on eight made baskets in the home contest vs. Mississippi State set his career high for points. Booker has 13 games this season with three or more made 3s and 17 double-figure scoring games.
Student assistant coach TeMarcus Blanton: A native of Locust Grove, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, Blanton suffered a serious hip injury during preseason of his freshman campaign (2014-15), that required surgery and months of rehabilitation to return to the court for the 2015-16 season. Blanton would go on to see action in 29 career games, including 21 last season as Carolina marched to the Final Four. He announced in May 2017 that he wouldn’t take the court for the Gamecocks moving forward, but remained with the team, serving as a student assistant coach this season.

THE SERIES

> Carolina leads the all-time series, 17-15.
> In Columbia, LSU leads 8-7.
> The Gamecocks have won two-straight over the Tigers, but LSU won the previous three before that.

UP NEXT

> South Carolina ends the regular season on the road this Saturday, traveling to face No. 14/15 Auburn in a 3:30 p.m. ET matchup on the SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Sean Harrington (analyst) on the call.