Dec. 19, 2004

Not coming back so quick

South Carolina flew to Mobile, Ala., on Saturday after the Kansas game. USC will play East Carolina at 7:30 pm (est) on Monday, Dec. 20 as part of the GMAC Bowl/Coors Classic. The game will be shown on CSS throughout the Southeast with Matt Stewart (play by play) and former Gamecock great Bobby Cremins (color analyst) making the call.

USC is 5-5 against the Pirates. Their last meeting: USC dropped a 34-56 game in Columbia under then-Gamecock head coach Eddie Fogler on Dec. 19, 1998. The series began with a 75-62 win for USC in Columbia on Dec. 18, 1968.

Dave Odom has a history with East Carolina. He was the school’s head coach from 1979-1982, tallying a 38-42 record in his three years. He has never faced the school as a head coach.

All about the game:

East Carolina

Tipoff: 6:00 pm CST

Television: CSS (Matt Stewart, Bobby Cremins)

Location: Mitchell Center (10,000)

Series Record: Tied, 5-5

In Columbia: Tied, 3-3

In Greenville: Tied, 2-2

Last Meeting: East Carolina, 56-34, at Columbia, (Dec. 19, 1998)

South Carolina Information

Coach: Dave Odom (Guilford, 1965)

USC Record: 62-44 (4th Year)

Overall Record: 340-218 (19th Year)

Record vs. ECU: First Meeting

East Carolina Information

Coach: Bill Herrion (Merrimack, 1981)

ECU Record: 65-84 (6 Years)

Overall Record: 232-155 (14 Years)

Record vs. USC: First Meeting

Projected starters

South Carolina (5-2)

F 15 Carlos Powell (15.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg)

F 21 Tarence Kinsey (9.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

F 33 Brandon Wallace (6.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

G 1 Tre’ Kelley (11.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.0 apg)

G 31 Josh Gonner (7.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg)

East Carolina

F 31 Jonathan Hart (4.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

C 25 Moussa Badiane (13.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

G 10 Japhet McNeil (5.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

G 23 Corey Rouse (10.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg)

G 34 Mike Cook (15.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

East Carolina – CUSA Again

The game with East Carolina will be the second non-conference regular season game against a Conference USA opponent in three games, after not facing a CUSA team during the regular season since Dec. 2, 2000. USC defeated South Florida last Tuesday (72-70) prior to departing for Kansas.

The last two games played against a Conference USA opponent, prior to playing South Florida, were both against Memphis in tournament play. The Gamecocks lost the 2002 NIT Championship to Memphis and lost the 2004 NCAA Tournament 1st Round game to the Tigers. USC had lost three straight games to Conference USA opponents and holds a 59-80 mark against teams in that conference.

Last Time Out

The last time out, Dec. 18, South Carolina, leading most of the way, dropped a 64-60 loss on the road to No. 2 Kansas. Carlos Powell led the Gamecocks with the sixth double-double of his career – collecting 13 points and 10 rebounds. (see box scores for game summary).

Carolina Starters

The Gamecocks have opened up all seven games this season with the same lineup. (Carlos Powell, Tarence Kinsey, Brandon Wallace, Tre’ Kelley, and Josh Gonner). All five this season have scored in double figures at least once this year. The five are averaging 50.3 ppg of the Gamecocks’ 70.6 ppg this season.

For the first time this season, a non-starter led the team in scoring against South Florida. Balkman scored a career-high 17 points against the Bulls. Also pulling down a career high against the Bulls: Antonine Tisby collected nine rebounds – which he again matched at No. 2 Kansas on Saturday night.

His too

The Western Carolina game was senior Carlos Powell’s 100th of his career. The record for career games played in at USC is 125 by Mike Boynton, Jr. Against Temple, he scored at least 20 points (22) for the seventh time in his career (career high: 23 points at Clemson last season). He had the sixth double-double of his career when he collected 13 points and 10 rebounds at No. 2 Kansas.

Powell has 1,110 career points and 476 career rebounds. Currently he is No. 26 on the career points scored list. To move to No. 20 he needs 1,251 points (Joe Smith). To move to No. 15 he needs 1,345 points (Nate Davis). To move to No. 10 he needs 1,439 points (Jo Jo English). BJ McKie holds the record for most points scored at 2,119.

Powell also has his eye on a number of USC top 10 career lists. They include:

Stat Record Place CP Now

Games Played 125, Mike Boynton, Jr. 1 106

Points Scored 1439, Jo Jo English 10 1110

Rebounds 669, Grady Wallace 10 476

Steals 115, Mike Boynton, Jr. 10 110