Nov. 30, 2007

South Carolina, celebrating 100 seasons of Gamecock basketball this season, plays at No. 18 Clemson on Sat., Dec. 1 at 4 pm. The rivalry dates back to the early 20th century when the Gamecocks won the first match-up 39-18 on Feb. 16, 1913.

Carolina enters the contest at 4-3 after defeating Campbell 92-52 on Nov. 28. Clemson is a perfect 6-0 after its 61-58 win over Purdue on Nov. 27. South Carolina’s last win over a top 20 team came two years ago when it defeated No. 14 Tennessee in the 2006 SEC Tournament quarterfinals 79-71. Clemson’s last 7-0 start: Clemson started the season at 17-0 last year and ended the season with a 78-73 loss to West Virginia in the NIT Championship game. Carolina had won the previous two NIT titles with wins over St. Joseph (2005) and Michigan (2006).

The in-state rivals 156th contest will be televised on Fox SportsSouth at 4 pm with Bob Rathbun and Dan Bonner making the call. The Carolina-Clemson game can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (color analyst). In addition, it can be picked up via the internet at www.gamecocksonline.com.

Carolina vs. Clemson

Carolina holds a 86-71 mark all-time against the Tigers with the Tigers carrying a 42-31 edge at Clemson, S.C. The Tigers have won the last three meetings with USC’s last win coming Dec. 6, 2003 when the Gamecocks defeated the Tigers 76-61 at Clemson.

Members of the ACC from 1953-54 – 1970-71, South Carolina has been in the SEC for the last 16 years. The Gamecocks are 258-379 vs. the ACC during their 100 years of basketball.

A few more things on the Clemson-South Carolina match-up: * The 156th meeting between the two schools is being played for the first time ever on Dec. 1. All-told Carolina is 21-4 on Dec. 1.

* Dave Odom is 22-11 vs. Clemson including 3-3 vs. the Tigers as the Gamecocks’ leader. Losing the last three to the Tigers, prior to the current streak, Odom had defeated the Tigers nine straight times dating back to 1997-98. He was 19-8 vs. CU while at Wake Forest and never lost more than two in a row to CU while at Wake (three times).

* The last time Clemson won four in a row vs. Carolina: the Tigers won six straight between 1994-95 and 1999-2000. The longest winning streaks for each school: Clemson won eight in a row from 1977-78 and 1981-82 and Carolina won 12 in a row from 1967-68 to 1977-78.

On deck

The Gamecocks travel to the City of Brotherly Love on Thurs., Dec. 6 (7 pm on ESPN) to play in the Pizza Hut SEC-Big East Challenge at the home of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Wachovia Center. Their opponent, Providence, is 4-1 heading into its matchup on Saturday in Boston vs. Boston College and then a Dec. 4 night tune-up at in-state rival Rhode Island.

USC is 2-4 vs. Providence all-time with its last meeting on Dec. 3, 2001 – a 67-48 Gamecock victory. USC is 71-85 vs. the Big East Conference all-time with its last game a 78-63 victory over Louisville to advance to the NIT Championship on March 28, 2006.

Leading the Way

Carolina has three players averaging double figures: Devan Downey (18.0), Zam Fredrick (15.3) and Brandis Raley-Ross (10.3).

Mike Holmes leads the Gamecock charge on the boards grabbing 7.3 rpg including a career-high 16 vs. N.C. State. Sam Muldrow is next on the list with 6.0 rpg and Archie is third with 5.4 rpg.

Downey leads the team with 4.9 apg and 3.3 spg. Muldrow leads the crew with 1.0 bpg, including his five block performance vs. Campbell.

Streakers

Think Zam Fredrick and Devan Downey couldn’t wait to play ball for the Gamecocks after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules? Both have scored double-figures in every game this season with both also posting career highs in the early going.

Downey scored double figures in nine straight his freshman year at Cincinnati: from Memphis to North Carolina A&T in 2005-06. Downey tied his previous career-high of 24 vs. South Carolina State and then broke the career-high with 30 points vs. Penn State at the Old Spice Tournament. Downey shot 2+ 3 pointers just four times for the Bearcats his freshman year. Just seven games into the season, Downey has 2+ 3s in four games this season, including a career-high four vs. Penn State. Last week he said the most improved part of his game this year was his jumper.

Fredrick posted a career-high 24 points vs. George Mason. Fredrick never scored double figures in seven straight games in his two years at Georgia Tech. The most for Fredrick: five straight games (Florida State to Duke in 2006).

Brandon Who?

Dominique Archie told the media the other day that Brandon Wallace’s school-record 249 blocked shots might be jeopardy if Sam Muldrow plays four years for the Gamecocks. While that is quite a stretch seven games into the Florence native’s freshman campaign, he is making his shot-blocking abilities known. Muldrow leads the team with 1.0 bpg and blocked five shots vs. Campbell on Nov. 28. It’s the most for a freshman since Renaldo Balkman blocked five shots on Feb. 11, 2004 vs. Mississippi State.

40s, Steals?

* The Gamecocks have scored 40+ first half points in three of four home games this season. (SC State, The Citadel, Campbell). Last year USC scored 40+ in only eight halves total.

*The Gamecocks have 9 or more steals in four games this season for a perfect 4-0 record. (SC State, The Citadel, Penn State, and Campbell). Odom is 57-21 when the Gamecocks have 9+ steals in a game.

* Carolina has scored 362 points in the four home games this season for an average of 90.5 points per game. A Colonial Center record, Carolina scored 103 points in its 103-42 win over The Citadel on Nov. 12.

Tops in the SEC so far

Carolina is leading the SEC in a number of statistical categories in the early going. The following are a few:

* Brandis Raley-Ross hit six of seven three’s vs. Campbell for a league-best 86% three point shooting percentage. Raley-Ross leads the SEC in three point field goal percentage at 70% (16 of 23) as well.

* Devan Downey is one of three SEC players to post 11 assists in a game (Downey’s came vs. The Citadel). Downey also leads all SEC players as the only one to post six steals in a single game (a career-high) vs. The Citadel.

* Downey leads the SEC with 3.3 steals per game and is fifth in the SEC with 18.0 ppg. Downey is third in assists at 4.9 apg.

* South Carolina is second in the SEC with 9.3 3’s per game and leads the league by making 47% of its 3 point attempts (65 of 137).

* Not leading, but a close second, Mike Holmes is second in the league in offensive rebounds with 3.6 orpg. Holmes is 11th in the league with 7.3 rpg.

* Sam Muldrow is second among all SEC freshmen with 1.9 bpg and is tied for the league lead by making 7 of 7 free throw attempts.

* Holmes is third among SEC freshmen with 7.3 rpg. Muldrow is fourth (6.0 rpg).

Braggin’ Rights

South Carolina is 2-0 vs. The Palmetto State this year, including: South Carolina State (won 92-67 on Nov. 9) and The Citadel (won 103-42). South Carolina will play at Clemson (Dec. 1) and host College of Charleston (Dec. 22) to close out The Palmetto State schedule.

Dave Odom is 63-11 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 22-11 against the Tigers and is 37-0 against the rest of South Carolina.

With wins over C of C, SCSU and the Citadel and a loss to Clemson, USC was 3-1 vs. teams within its own borders last season. USC finished at 3-1 vs. in-state teams in 2005-06, posting wins over SCSU, Wofford and Winthrop and falling at Clemson.

Robert’s first a record!

South Carolina defeated Campbell by 40 points in its last game, 92-52. Threes were the order of the day with Carolina setting a school record by hitting 16 three pointers.

What made the 16th 3 so special? With the entire bench cheering him on, walk-on Robert Wilder hit the school record 16th three of the game for his first career basket. Wilder, an all-state performer from Chapin, walked on.

Tid bits

A few other notes from the win over the Camels:

* South Carolina started a new line-up vs. Campbell with Dwayne Day entering the line-up as a forward and starting his 25th career game. Guard Brandis Raley-Ross’ 19 game streak of starting, dating back to last year, was ended. Dominique Archie has started 37 straight games dating back to his freshman year.

* 7 of South Carolina’s first 9 shots made were three point field goals.

* South Carolina ended the first half on a 16-2 run over the final 5:31. Brandis Raley-Ross and Devan Downey combined to go 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the first half. The two combined for 27 of the team’s 45 first half points. The two ended the game with 40 points combined. They are the first Gamecock players to score 20+ points in the same game since Brandon Wallace and Dominique Archie scored 20 points each against Lipscomb on Nov. 19, 2006.

* The Gamecocks had 9 assists on their 17 field goals made in the first half.

Brandis Raley-Ross scored in double figures for the third time this season. The 20 points were a career high, including a career-high six three point field goals. His previous career high was 18 against Southern California this season and against Western Carolina last season.

* Sam Muldrow blocked a career high 5 shots. His previous career high was 4 against SC State. He entered the game with 8 blocked shots on the season. It is the most for the Gamecocks since Brandon Wallace blocked 5 against Arkansas on March 11, 2007. The 11 blocks were the most for the Gamecocks since Carolina blocked 15 against Alaska-Anchorage on November 24, 2005.

Fun Facts on the Gamecocks

* One thing no one knows about Devan Downey: he’s scared of dogs.

* Evka Baniulis was a swimmer prior to taking up basketball in his homeland of Lithuania as a youngster.

* Brandon Conrad’s father, Robert Conrad, was a baller with CU from 1976-77 – 1979-80 and was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1993. On hand for the Gamecocks victory over Penn State on Thanksgiving Day, Mr. Conrad must have forgotten the game was televised as Clemson’s long-time SID Tim Bourret called him right away when he spotted him cheering on the Gamecocks in his SOUTH CAROLINA sweater on ESPN!

Odom on the verge of 400 wins

South Carolina head coach Dave Odom has 394 career wins in his 22 years as a head coach at East Carolina (38), Wake Forest (240) and South Carolina (116). He would be the 28th active coach to reach 400 wins. Odom is already currently the winningest all-time coach in the SEC.