Men's Basketball . December 29, 2017

Gamecocks Open SEC Play At Ole Miss Sunday Night

Dec. 29, 2017

South Carolina at Ole Miss

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina begins SEC action on Sunday when it travels to face Ole Miss at The Pavilion in Oxford. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.

STARTING FIVE

> South Carolina begins SEC action on Sunday evening at Ole Miss, marking Carolina’s third-straight SEC opener on the road. The Gamecocks posted an 81-69 win at Auburn on Jan. 5, 2016, and tallied a 67-61 win on the road at Georgia on Jan. 4, 2017.
> The Gamecocks are 10-16 all-time in SEC openers, including a 4-10 mark in league openers on the road.
> South Carolina tallied a 29-point win over DII Limestone last Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena in its first contest back following the break for the holidays. Graduate student guard Frank Booker connected on five 3-point baskets, to match his career high with the makes and pace the Gamecocks with 17 points.
> The Gamecock defense held Limestone to just 25.0 percent (13-52) from the field, including a 4-of-25 (16.0%) mark in the second half. The 25.0 percent overall was the lowest opponent field goal percent since Carolina held Big Ten foe Michigan to just 19.2% (10-52) from the field last season on Nov 23, 2016.
> Rookie guard David Beatty had a breakout performance vs. Limestone, connecting on 6-of-11 attempts from the floor for a season high 16 points. The performance marked his second double-figure effort of the season (13 vs. Temple on Nov. 30).

HEADLINES

> South Carolina is in its 110th season of varsity basketball in 2017-18.
> South Carolina advanced to its first Final Four in 2016-17, which included posting its first NCAA Tournament win since the 1973 campaign when it tallied a 93-73 win over Marquette in the First Round.
> The Gamecocks finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 26-11 overall record. The 26 wins were a program record.
> Among active Division I head coaches, South Carolina’s Frank Martin holds the sixth-highest NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.667) behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Kansas’ Bill Self.
> Over the course of the last three seasons (2015-16-present), the Gamecocks are 24-17 (.585) combined in games played away from home (away/neutral).
> South Carolina compiled 51 wins over the course of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
> Entering the 2017-18 campaign, Frank Martin has led his team to at least 20 wins in seven of 10 seasons.
> South Carolina played six of its first seven games away from home to begin the 2017-18 campaign, posting a 4-2 record during the stretch.
> Martin is joined on the bench by assistant coaches Perry Clark (fifth season), Chuck Martin (first season) and Bruce Shingler (second season), and director of basketball operations Andy Assaley in his sixth season.
> Martin is 88-84 (.511) all-time in league play. In his 10 seasons leading a squad through league play, his team has posted double-digit league wins six times.
> South Carolina has improved its conference record in each of Frank Martin’s five seasons leading the squad through the SEC slate. In his first SEC campaign (2013), Martin led his squad to four wins, followed by five win sin 2014, six in 2015, 11 in 2016 and 12 last season.
> South Carolina is in its 26th basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are 167-259 (.392) all-time in SEC games.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

> South Carolina enters SEC action with a 9-3 overall record, which includes a 5-0 mark at home, a 2-1 record on the road and a 2-2 mark in neutral-site contests.
> The Gamecocks most recently posted a 74-45 win over DII Limestone on Dec. 27 at Colonial Life Arena in their first contest back following a break for the holidays.
> Prior to the break, Carolina suffered a 64-48 loss at Clemson (Dec. 19).
> Two average double-figure points entering Sunday’s matchup vs. Ole Miss, led by junior forward Chris Silva‘s 12.8. Graduate transfer guard Frank Booker also provides 11.1 points per game.
> Silva’s 8.0 rebounds are a team high. He has pulled down 10 rebounds four times this season.
> In the seven games away from home this season, South Carolina is averaging 69.0 points per game, and 41.9 percent from the field.
> South Carolina is second in the SEC (games through Dec. 27) in scoring defense, holding opponents to 63.4 points per game. The Gamecocks are also among league leaders in rebound margin (6th, +6.7), and defensive rebound percent (1st, 76.2%).
> Individually in the SEC stats, Silva’s 8.0 rebounds per game rank fourth, Maik Kotsar‘s 1.5 steals per game are tied for seventh, and Booker’s 2.5 3-pointers per game are ninth.

SCOUTING THE REBELS

> Ole Miss enters SEC action with a 7-5 overall record, which includes a 6-3 mark at home, an 0-1 record in away games and a 1-1 mark in neutral site games.
> The Rebels are led by head coach Andy Kennedy in his 11th season. He is Ole Miss’ all-time winningest coach.
> Ole Miss participated in the Postseason NIT in 2016-17, advancing to the quarterfinals.
> Three average double-figure points for the Rebels, led by Terence Davis’ 16.1 per game. Deandre Burnett (14.4) and Markel Crawford (10.5) also provide double-figures.
> Davis ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring, and Burnett’s 4.8 assists per game rank fourth.
> The Rebels are among league and national leaders in assists per game (2nd in the SEC/24th nationally), and blocks per game (7th in the SEC/26th nationally).
> Ole Miss averages 46.4 percent from the field, and its opponents average 42.5 percent.

THE SERIES

> Ole Miss leads the all-time series by a slight 19-18 advantage.
> The Rebels however hold a 13-2 upperhand in games played in Oxford.
> The Gamecocks have won three of the last five meetings between the two schools.
> Below is a breakdown of the overall series and a look at the last 10 meetings:

UP NEXT

> Following Sunday’s matchup against the Rebels, South Carolina returns home for two straight SEC matchups, first against Missouri (Jan. 3/9 PM), before hosting Vanderbilt (Jan. 6/6:45 PM).