Men's Basketball Hosts Ole Miss On Legends Weekend

Jan. 17, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina returns to Colonial Life Arena on Saturday to host Ole Miss for the Carolina Basketball Legends Weekend contest. The game will tip at 4:30 p.m. ET on FSN. The meeting marks the 31st all-time between the two schools, and the 12th in Columbia. South Carolina won last season’s lone meeting between the two schools, a 63-62 thriller at Colonial Life Arena.

OPENING TIP
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014
Tipoff: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Series is tied at 15-15 (South Carolina is 10-1 in Columbia)
Last Meeting: South Carolina win, 63-62, on Feb. 20, 2013, in Columbia, S.C.
Broadcast: FSN/ESPN3/WatchESPN
Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Larry Conley (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network/107.5 The Game in Columbia
Sirius: 113; XM: 199
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Game Notes | | @GamecockMBB on Twitter | Tickets | Promotions

Carolina Basketball Legends Weekend Commemorating Frank McGuire
LINK: Legends Weekend Information
Several Gamecock legends from numerous decades are slated to attend the 2014 Legends Weekend (#Legends2014) in Columbia, including several McGuire-era greats. Among those are All-American and Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Alex English, All-American’s Zam 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 133-224 (.372) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 54-49 (.524) all-time record in conference play.
– Saturday’s contest at Colonial Life Arena will feature a matchup of the top two 3-point field goal percentage teams in the SEC, as Ole Miss ranks first in the category (38.5%) in overall games and the Gamecocks second (36.4%).
– Last season vs. Ole Miss, the Gamecocks held Rebel 3-point ace Marshall Henderson to just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting from the field, which at the time was nearly nine points less than his SEC leading 19.7 points per game.
– It was announced on Thursday that junior guard Tyrone Johnson suffered a right foot fracture in Wednesday night’s game at Texas A&M, which will require 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.
– The Gamecocks fell to 0-3 in conference play on Wednesday evening with a 75-67 loss at Texas A&M. The Gamecocks led by as many as 11 in the opening half, but the Aggies out-scored Carolina 37-28 in the second half en route to the victory. Foul trouble once again plagued Carolina, with several players’ minutes limited due to fouls, especially early in the second half. Senior guard Brenton Williams led the team with 14 points, his eighth-straight double-digit scoring game, while freshman guard Duane Notice added 12 points and five assists.

Scouting Ole Miss
Ole Miss enters Saturday’s matchup with an 11-5 overall record, which includes a 2-1 mark in SEC games with home victories over Auburn and LSU … The Rebels’ lone loss in league play this season came in a 76-72 decision at Mississippi State last weekend … The squad is led by head coach Andy Kennedy in his eighth season in Oxford … Ole Miss won the 2013 SEC Tournament and defeated Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament, but just missed a chance at the Sweet 16 with a loss to La Salle … Senior guard Marshall Henderson paces the team and ranks second in the SEC with 19.2 points per game … Henderson averages 39.3 percent from 3-point range and hits 4.5 3s per outing … The Rebels have blocked 111 shots this season already, an average of 6.9 per outing which leads the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation … Junior forward Aaron Jones ranks third in the league and is tied for 35th in the country in blocks per game (2.6) … Ole Miss has quality wins this season over Georgia Tech and Penn State, both at the Barclays Center Classic in New York in late November.

Among Freshmen In The SEC …
Sindarius Thornwell ranks sixth in scoring (11.3) and sixth in steals (1.0) … Demetrius Henry ranks eighth in rebounding (4.4) … Duane Notice ranks fifth in assists (2.9) and 14th in scoring (6.7).

Ole Miss Series
The all-time series between the Rebels and Gamecocks is tied at 15-15, but Carolina holds a commanding 10-1 upperhand in games played in Columbia. The Rebels’ lone win in Columbia came during the 2001 campaign.

By The Numbers
9/7 – Freshman forward Desmond Ringer scored a season high nine points, and matched a season high with a team best seven rebounds in 28 minutes played at Texas A&M on Wednesday. In the first eight games of the season, Ringer averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per outing, but in the last eight games, the McDonough, Ga., native is averaging 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
5 – With several players in foul trouble early in the second half vs. A&M, Gamecock head coach Frank Martin turned to his bench for significant playing time. Rookie forward Justin McKie was bright in his season high 11 minutes played vs. the Aggies, scoring five points and pulling down three rebounds. He hit his first 3 of the season in the contest.
8-straight – Senior guard Brenton Williams has posted double figures in eight-straight contests entering Saturday’s matchup vs. Ole Miss. Over the course of those eight games, he is averaging 15.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and has hit 43.2 percent from the field and 44.7 from 3-point range.
5 – Freshman guard Duane Notice dished five assists vs. Texas A&M, the fourth time in the last six games that he has posted at least five assists in a contest. He is averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game over the course of the last six games.