Dec. 17, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (7-1) travels to face No. 2/2 Ohio State (9-0) on Saturday in a marquee matchup on CBS at 2 p.m. from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The meeting will be the third all-time between the two schools and the first since 1989.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 18, 2010
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Arena: Value City Arena (19,049)
Series: Series is tied at 1-1
Television: CBS Sports
Talent: Spero Dedes (pxp), Bill Raftery (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com

Game Notes vs. Ohio State | ESPN – Andy Katz Blog: In Tough SEC East, Georgia Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks Have Chance To Impress | ESPN – Around The Rim With Darrin Horn

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are led by third-year head coach Darrin Horn.
– Horn has led South Carolina to a 33-8 (.804) home record during his two-plus seasons in Columbia and an 8-16 (.333) mark in road contests.
– South Carolina is 1-1 in road contests this season, first dropping an 82-73 decision at then-No. 2/2 Michigan State on Nov. 16, followed by a double-overtime victory over Western Kentucky – Horn’s alma mater – on Nov. 27.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow collected his second career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Wofford. It was the highest single-game rebounding effort by a Gamecock this season.
– Carolina’s 7-1 start in 2010-11 is its best win-loss tally through the first eight games since the 2008-09 season.
– South Carolina’s 43.2 rebounds per game lead the SEC and rank sixth in the nation (games through Dec. 12). Only Southern Mississippi (45.4), Texas State (45.0), Quinnipiac (44.6), Pittsburgh (44.0) and Drexel (43.6) collect more rebounds per contest than the Gamecocks.
– Carolina’s 5.4 blocked shots per game rank fourth in the SEC and 25th in the nation.
– South Carolina’s 8.8 steals per game – led by Lakeem Jackson with 2.0 per outing – rank third in the SEC and 48th in the nation.
– Carolina’s +6.8 rebounding margin ranks fifth in the SEC. The Gamecocks finished last in the SEC in the category during the 2009-10 season.
– Junior forward Malik Cooke ranks ninth in the SEC in rebounding (7.8), and is tied for fourth in offensive rebounds per game (3.4).
– Freshman guard Bruce Ellington ranks fifth in the SEC in assists (4.1), and is first among freshmen in the category.
– Ellington ranks 16th nationally in assists per game among freshmen.
– South Carolina snapped a six-game losing streak to archrival Clemson on Dec. 5, defeating the Tigers, 64-60, behind four Gamecocks in double figures, led by Ellington with 14.
– South Carolina has out-rebounded seven of its eight opponents this season, with the lone exception being Clemson.
– Horn led Carolina to an 87-85 double overtime win over his alma mater, Western Kentucky, on Nov. 27. The win was Carolina’s first on the road this season and its first double overtime contest – win or loss – since the 1993 season.
– South Carolina is 277-263 (.512) all-time in the month of December. The Gamecocks went 3-3 during the month last season.
– The 2009-10 Gamecocks concluded their 19th season of competition in the SEC with a 6-10 record. South Carolina owns an overall record of 122-182 (.401) all-time in SEC play.
– South Carolina owns a 12-20 (.375) record against current schools in the Big Ten. The last Big Ten Conference opponent the Gamecocks faced was Michigan State on Nov. 16. South Carolina battled the second-ranked Spartans in that matchup, however MSU collected an 82-73 victory at the Breslin Center. Carolina’s last win over a Big Ten opponent came against Penn State on Nov. 22, 2007, in the Old Spice Classic. South Carolina won that contest, 74-67.

Scouting Ohio State
– Ohio State enters Saturday’s matchup as the No. 2 team in the country, boasting a 9-0 record after most recently earning an 83-55 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
– Senior guard Jon Diebler led the Buckeyes vs. Florida Gulf Coast with a stellar shooting effort, hitting 9-of-14 attempts from 3-point range. Diebler averages 13.2 points per game.
– Freshman center Jared Sullinger, already a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree, paces the squad with 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per outing. In his short career, Sullinger has recorded double-digit points in eight of nine contests, including an Ohio State freshman record of 40 points vs. IUPUI.
– Fifth-year senior David Lighty, the most veteran member of the Buckeye squad, averages 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and paces the team with 2.1 steals per contest. Lighty has two Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles on his resume as a college player, and has been a part of 104 career wins at Ohio State.

Ohio State Series Information
– South Carolina and Ohio State have met twice previously, with the all-time series between the two schools tied at 1-1.
– Both team’s have won on their respective home courts, with 18th-ranked South Carolina collecting a 74-68 victory over the 12th-ranked Buckeyes on Dec. 20, 1988, and Ohio State avenging that loss with a 59-46 win in Columbus on Dec. 21, 1989, at St. John Arena.
– Sophomore guard Brent Price led South Carolina with 25 points in the win over OSU in 1988, hitting 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc in the contest. Senior big man John Hudson collected a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while senior Terry Dozier added 16 points.

By The Numbers
– 6 – South Carolina’s current six-game win streak is the longest of the Darrin Horn era.
– 14 – Senior forward Sam Muldrow collected a game-high 14 rebounds vs. Wofford last Saturday, just two rebounds shy of matching his career high.
– 18 – Saturday’s meeting vs. the No. 2 ranked team in the country in Ohio State marks the 18th all-time for the Gamecocks vs. No. 2 (AP poll since 1949).
– 4 – For the second-straight game Malik Cooke collected four steals to lead the Gamecocks vs. Wofford.
– 12 – South Carolina tallied 12 fast break points vs. both Wofford and Clemson. The Gamecocks are 7-0 this season when they score more fast break points than their opponent. South Carolina’s 22 fast break points vs. Delaware State marked a season high.
– 3.8 – Over the course of the last four games, senior forward Sam Muldrow averages 3.8 blocked shots. Compare that to Muldrow’s first four games this season, where he averaged just 1.0 per game.

Ohio State Connections
– South Carolina assistant coach Orlando Early was an assistant alongside Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, also an assistant, at Western Carolina for the 1995-96 season. The Catamounts went on to win the Southern Conference and advance to the NCAA Tournament that season.