Nov. 30, 2006

In the midst of an intrastate trio of games, South Carolina, 4-1, returns home after playing the last three of four games on the road and will face arch-rival Clemson, 8-0, on Sat., Dec. 2 at 1 pm at the Colonial Center.

The Tigers are fresh off 90-68 win at Minnesota on Wed., Nov. 29 in Minneapolis, while USC defeated The Citadel in Charleston Mon., Nov. 27, 74-59. The 15-point Gamecock win was USC’s most-lopsided victory this season.

The Carolina-Clemson contest has been played since 1913 with this being the 156th meeting between the two schools. Carolina holds a 86-70 mark all-time against the Tigers and a 52-25 record in Columbia. The Tigers have won the last two meetings, including a 63-62 overtime win in Columbia Dec. 4, 2004, but Carolina has won four of the last six games between the two schools.

Members of the ACC from 1953-54 – 1970-71, USC has been in the SEC for the last 15 years. The Gamecocks are 258-378 vs. the ACC during their 99 years of basketball.

The Carolina-Clemson will be shown on Fox Sports South with Ron Thulin and Perry Clark making the call. The game can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (color analyst). It can also be heard via the internet at www.uscsports.com. The game can also be seen on Gamecock All Access Sun., Dec. 3 at www.uscsports.com.

Home Slice

Carolina will play seven of its next eight games in the Friendly Confines of the Colonial Center before traveling to Georgia to open up the SEC regular season against the Bulldogs (Jan. 10). USC opened the season with three of the first five on the road, posting a 2-1 record on the road. The only game away from the Colonial Center during the upcoming stretch is a meeting in Waco, Texas with Baylor on Sat., Dec. 9 – a game that will be shown on FSN Southwest at 6 pm EST.

Carolina is 53-16 all-time at the Colonial Center and has compiled a 35-2 record against non-conference opponents. The first non-conference loss was to Clemson (Dec. 4, 2004, 62-62 OT). The loss snapped a 20-game home-winning streak against non-conference foes. Carolina’s other non-conference loss in the CC was to No. 23 Pittsburgh (Dec. 28, 2005, 58-51).

Palmetto State Braggin’ Rights

South Carolina is in the midst of a three-game stretch against intrastate foes after defeating The Citadel on Nov. 27 (74-59). USC plays Clemson Dec. 2 and then the College of Charleston (Dec. 5) to round out their in-state schedule this season. The CofC game will feature the return of former USC great Bobby Cremins, now the Cougars head coach. The game will be shown on FSN as well.

With the 55-52 win over SCSU and the 74-59 win over TC, Dave Odom is 60-10 overall against all teams in the state of South Carolina — with his only losses coming to in-state rival Clemson. That total includes one game against the Gamecocks as well. The most wins come against Clemson as Odom is 22-10 against the Tigers and is 35-0 against the rest of South Carolina.

The Gamecocks are 2-0 vs. teams within their own borders this season. USC finished at 3-1 vs. in-state teams last season, posting wins over SCSU, Wofford and Winthrop and failing at Clemson.

Leaders

Three of South Carolina’s starters average double figures: Tre’ Kelley (16.4 ppg), Brandis Raley-Ross (12.6 ppg) and Brandon Wallace (11.2 ppg) as compared to four for the Tigers: K.C. Rivers (14.3 ppg), James Mays (11.8 ppg), Vernon Hamilton (11.0 ppg) and Cliff Hammonds (10.6 ppg).

Kelley leads USC with 5.2 apg while Hamilton dishes out 4.1 apg. USC is led in rebounding by Wallace (8.6 rpg) and Dominique Archie (6.0 rpg) with Wallace collecting 2.6 bpg. The Tigers are led on the boards by Mays’ 7.8 rpg and Booker’s 6.4 rpg.

The Carolina offense started out slow in the first three games by shooting 39% or worse in the first three games. In the last two games, the Gamecocks have shot 50% or better from the floor, including a season-high 56.6% at The Citadel. CU is shooting 48% as a team from the field to USC’s 43%.

Teddy Bears …

Prior to the Carolina-Clemson game, basketball fans will have the opportunity to help Columbia children. Fans are being asked to bring a teddy bear to the Carolina – Clemson basketball game to toss onto the court at half time. All bears will be given to the Columbia City Police Department Victim’s Assistance Unit.

The first 200 fans to arrive with a teddy bear donation will receive a FREE T-shirt, courtesy of the Russell House Bookstore.

In addition, the first 500 fans in the door (teddy bear or not) will receive a free BEAT CLEMSON t-shirt.

Startin’ and Scorin’

Tre’ Kelley scored his 1000th career point as a Gamecock in the win over Lipscomb. He is the 39th Gamecock to score 1,000 points in his USC career. Kelley also played in his 3000th career minute in the Garnet and Black in the LU game.

Kelley is the only Gamecock to score in double digits in each game this season. Dating back to last season, Kelley has scored double digits in six straight contests and 14 of the last 15 games. Kelley has started 78 games in his career, including 49 consecutive games dating back to March 3, 2005 on Senior Day vs. Ole Miss.

Ha – not here!

Brandon Wallace has eight plus rebounds in each game thus far. Last season, Wallace accomplished that feat nine times. Adding insult to injury, Wallace blocked a season-high five shots at The Citadel on Mon., Nov. 27. He has blocked five or more shots in a game six times in his career, with his career-high being seven at Alaska Anchorage last November in the Gamecocks’ 65-60 win over the Seawolves.

The Big Guy

Junior Ousmane Konate had three career-highs on Monday at The Citadel, including making his first collegiate free throw attempts, after starting 0-4 dating back to last year. His career highs included the six points he scored and 15 minutes played. Last season, Konate only scored 14 points in 13 games and the longest span he played in a game was 10 minutes twice (UNC Greensboro and Detroit Mercy). He has eight points this season in three games played.

I’m not Renaldo Balkman

Dominique Archie scored his first double-double in win over Lipscomb. Archie was the first USC freshman to score 20+ points since Rolando Howell scored 20 points in a 78-65 loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament on March 9, 2001. He was also the first freshman to have a double-double since Brandon Wallace collected a double-double at The Citadel on Dec. 3, 2003 (10 PT, 11 REB). The 20 points for Archie were a career-high and he also recorded a career-high 10 rebounds.

It was the first double-double of the year for any Gamecock. Archie started out slow in the first three games of his career, only scoring seven total points, but he’s come on strong in the last two games, scoring a combined 36 points. Archie leads the team with 20 offensive rebounds and is No. 2 currently in the SEC in orpg. Listed below are Archie’s numbers in the first three games compared to the last two games.

Games FG-A FTM-A OR DR TR BLKS STLS PTS

1-3 3-10 1-2 7 5 12 3 0 7

4-5 16-20 4-4 13 5 18 3 0 36