Feb. 22, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina travels to Athens, Ga., on Saturday for the second meeting between the Gamecocks and Bulldogs in 2013 Southeastern Conference play. Georgia won the first contest between the two former SEC East rivals, 67-56, on Feb. 2 in Columbia. Saturday’s contest marks the 100th all-time between Carolina and Georgia. The contest will be televised on CBS Sports with Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Doug Gottlieb (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen on the Gamecock IMG Sports Network via GamecocksOnline.com and on 107.5 The Game in Columbia with Andy Demetra (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst).

OPENING TIP
Date: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013
Tipoff: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Series: South Carolina leads 50-49 (UGA leads 30-15 in Athens)
Last Meeting: Georgia win, 67-56, on Feb. 2, 2013, in Columbia, S.C.
Television: CBS Sports
Talent: Spero Dedes (pxp), Doug Gottlieb (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock IMG Radio Network
Sirius: N/A; XM: N/A
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Tickets | @GamecockMBB | | Game Notes

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 105th season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are led by first-year head coach Frank Martin. His associate head coach is Brad Underwood and his assistant coaches are Matt Figger and Lamont Evans. Andy Assaley is the director of basketball operations.
– The Gamecocks are in their 22nd season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2013. Carolina owns a 132-217 (.378) all-time record in SEC play.
– South Carolina snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday with a thrilling 63-62 victory over visiting Ole Miss at Colonial Life Arena. Junior guard Eric Smith netted the game-winner, a 3-point basket with 27 seconds remaining. Senior forward Lakeem Jackson and freshman forward Laimonas Chatkevicius blocked shots with two seconds, and just nano seconds, respectively, on the clock to secure the Gamecock win.
– The Gamecocks held SEC scoring leader, UM’s Marshall Henderson to just 11 points on Wednesday, eight of which came in the opening half. Henderson entered the game averaging 19.7 points per game, including a mark of 21.3 per league game.
– Freshman forward Michael Carrera put together his fifth double-double of the season with team highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds vs. Ole Miss. Carrera has 11 double-figure scoring contests and five double-figure rebounding games this season.
– Carrera has led Carolina in scoring in five of the last seven games and in rebounding in six of the last seven. Over the stretch, he is averaging 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
– In the first meeting in 2013 vs. Georgia three Gamecocks reached double figures, but the Bulldogs hit 58.1 percent (25-43) from the field, compared to just 35.8 percent (19-53) from Carolina. Carrera once again led the Gamecocks with 16 points, while Bruce Ellington added 14 and Brian Richardson posted 12 off the bench.
– South Carolina shot 50 percent (13-26) from the floor in the second half of Saturday’s contest at Alabama, but the Gamecocks were unable to overcome an early 23-point Alabama advantage, and suffered a 68-58 loss on the road in Tuscaloosa. Junior guard Brenton Williams led the Gamecocks with 14 points off the bench, while senior forward Lakeem Jackson pulled down a team high nine rebounds. It marked the seventh time this season that Williams has led, or shared the team lead, in scoring and the ninth time for Jackson in the rebounding column.

Scouting Georgia
The Bulldogs will be looking to break a three-game losing streak when the Gamecocks visit Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday. UGA put together a recent five-game win streak but have dropped consecutive contests to Alabama, Ole Miss and most recently Arkansas on Thursday night. Sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope paces the squad with 17.7 points per game, including 17.8 per league game. He scored 15 points at Arkansas on Thursday, but only had eight shot attempts in the contest. His 6.6 rebounds per game also are a team high. In that recent five-game win streak, Georgia hit 46.0 percent from the field, but in the current three-game skid, the Bulldogs are connecting on just 39.1 percent of shot attempts. Georgia is led by head coach Mark Fox in his fourth season.

Georgia Series
South Carolina holds a 50-49 edge in the all-time series vs. Georgia, but UGA holds a 30-15 upperhand in games played in Athens. The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s contest having won four of the last five meetings between the two schools.

By The Numbers
8/9 – South Carolina’s eight free throw attempts vs. Ole Miss and Ole Miss’ nine attempts from the line were season lows for both the Gamecocks and opponents in 2012-13.
8 – The Gamecocks matched a season high with eight blocked shots in the win vs. Ole Miss on Wednesday. Carrera matched a season high with three blocks in the contest. Lakeem Jackson had arguably the most crucial block of the night on a shot attempt from UM’s Nick Williams with just two seconds remaining in the contest. Laimonas Chatkevicius blocked a desperation 3 attempt from Marshall Henderson as time expired as well.
12 – Junior guard Eric Smith was out of the starting lineup for four contests, but returned with gusto on Wednesday, scoring an SEC season high 12 points and hitting the eventual game-winning 3 with 27 seconds remaining on the clock. Smith provides 6.5 points and 1.8 assists per game in league play this season.
5 – Smith dished five assists vs. Ole Miss against just one turnover. It marked the most helpers for Smith since also dishing five in the SEC opener at Mississippi State on Jan. 9.
10 – Michael Carrera had already collected 10 rebounds by the break for halftime in Wednesday’s contest vs. Ole Miss. He had eight of those boards on the offensive glass, propelling Carolina to 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, which accounted for 14 second-chance points.
9 and 7 – Over the course of the last two games freshman forward Laimonas Chatkevicius has matched his season high with 25 minutes played in both contests. He is averaging 9.0 points, which includes a season high of 11 points at Alabama last Saturday, while also collecting 7.0 rebounds per game in the stretch.

Up Next For The Gamecocks
The Gamecocks return to Columbia next Thursday, Feb. 28, to host Missouri in the second meeting between the two schools in 2013. The Tigers won the first meeting, 71-65, on Jan. 22 in Columbia, Mo. The contest will be televised on ESPN2.