Jan. 21, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina searches for its first SEC victory of the season when it travels to Georgia on Wednesday for a mid-week matchup on the road with the Bulldogs. UGA has won three straight games in the series and has won the last four in Athens. Wednesday’s contest will be broadcast on SEC TV.

OPENING TIP
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014
Tipoff: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Series: Georgia leads 52-48 (UGA leads 31-15 in Athens)
Last Meeting: Georgia win, 62-54 (OT), on Feb. 23, 2013 in Athens, Ga.
Broadcast: SEC TV/ESPN3
Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Kyle Macy (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network/107.5 The Game in Columbia
Sirius: N/A; XM: N/A
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
SEC TV Affiliates | Game Notes | | @GamecockMBB on Twitter | Tickets

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 106th season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are led by Frank Martin in his second year. Matt Figger is the associate head coach, and Perry Clark and Lamont Evans are assistant coaches. Andy Assaley is in his second year as the director of operations for the Gamecocks.
– The Gamecocks are in their 23rd season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2014. Carolina owns a 133-225 (.371) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 54-50 (.519) all-time record in conference play.
– It was announced on Jan. 16 that junior guard Tyrone Johnson suffered a right foot fracture in the Jan. 15 game at Texas A&M, which required surgery. Johnson is out indefinitely. The Plainfield, N.J., native has played in 16 contests this season for Carolina, averaging 11.2 points and a team best 3.4 assists per game. He tallied 11 double-figure scoring games and 11 games with at least three assists prior to his injury.
– After hitting 15-of-15 from the free throw line last week combined at A&M and vs. Ole Miss, senior guard Brenton Williams now qualifies for ranking in the NCAA statistics (min. 2.5 makes per game), and leads the nation in free throw percentage at 98 percent (48-of-49). He has missed just one free throw dating back to the Feb. 28, 2013 game vs. Missouri.
– The Gamecocks held a 10-point lead at halftime against Ole Miss, but the Rebels came back to out-score the Gamecocks 48-37 in the second half and claim a 75-74 win last Saturday at Colonial Life Arena. Freshman guard Sindarius Thornwell posted the first double-double of his career with teams highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Senior guard Brenton Williams did not hit a basket in the contest, but was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, including making three from the line with just six seconds to play to pull the Gamecocks within one of the Rebels at the time.
– Sophomore forward Laimonas Chatkevicius earned his first start of the 2013-14 campaign against Ole Miss and hit 6-of-7 attempts from the field to match his career high of 12 points in the game. He also blocked two shots and collected one steal. Freshman forward Desmond Ringer also earned the first start of his career in the game.

Scouting Georgia
Georgia enters Wednesday’s matchup in Athens with a 9-7 overall record, which includes a 3-1 mark in SEC games with victories at Missouri, vs. Alabama and most recently an overtime win vs. Arkansas on Saturday … The Bulldogs are 8-1 in home games this season, averaging 71.1 points per game in those contests … Sophomore guard Charles Mann leads the team with 13.3 points per game; he also dishes a team best 2.9 assists per contest … Mann was named the Jan. 13 SEC Player of the Week after leading UGA with 18 points in the win at Missouri and 22 points in a home win vs. Alabama … Junior forward Marcus Thornton paces the team with 5.6 rebounds per contest … The Bulldogs rank fifth in the SEC with 5.3 blocked shots per game, and seventh in offensive rebounds per game with 12.3 … The Bulldogs are led by head coach Mark Fox in his fifth season.

Among Freshmen In The SEC …
Sindarius Thornwell ranks sixth in scoring (12.0) and tied for fifth in steals (1.0) … Demetrius Henry ranks eighth in rebounding (4.2) … Duane Notice ranks fifth in assists (3.0) and 15th in scoring (6.5).

Georgia Series
Georgia leads the all-time series with South Carolina 52-48, which includes a 31-15 mark in games played in Athens … UGA has won six of the last seven meetings between the two schools and four-straight at Stegemen Coliseum … The Gamecocks last win in Athens came in a 68-51 victory on March 9, 2009, behind 23 points from point guard Devan Downey.

By The Numbers
36.7% – South Carolina hit just 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field in Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss, the Gamecocks’ lowest percentage of the SEC season and the lowest since hitting just 33 percent vs. USC Upstate. It marked the first time since the Boise State contest on Dec. 23 that the Gamecocks hit below 40 percent from the field.
0-10 – Senior guard Brenton Williams struggled from the field vs. Ole Miss, going 0-of-10 overall and 0-of-6 from 3-point range. It marked the first time in the last 11 games that Williams hasn’t hit a 3 and broke a streak of eight-straight double-figure scoring games for the senior.
18 – South Carolina pulled down 18 offensive rebounds vs. Ole Miss, the most in an SEC contest this season.
5 – Rookie guard Sindarius Thornwell pulled down a season high five offensive rebounds vs. Ole Miss.

Up Next
The Gamecocks travel to Missouri on Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup on SEC TV. The meeting vs. Mizzou marks just the third all-time between the new SEC rivals.