March 16, 2009

GAME INFORMATION
South Carolina vs. Davidson

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tipoff: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Davidson Series: South Carolina leads, 39-27
Television: ESPN2
Dave Pasch (pbp), Hubert Davis (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Casey Manning (analyst)
Tickets: Tickets are still available. Call the Gamecock Ticket Office at 1-800-4SC-FANS, or visit www.GamecocksOnline.com.

Game Preview
South Carolina (21-9) will host Davidson College (26-7) in the first round of the 2009 National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks are the No. 3 seed on the left side of the bracket while Davidson is the No. 6 seed. The two teams meet for the first time since South Carolina defeated Davidson, 100-73, in the opening round of the 1996 NIT. The winner of the South Carolina versus Davidson contest will play the winner of second-seeded St. Mary’s (CA) (26-6) versus No.7 seed Washington State (17-15).

Gamecocks In NIT Tournament
South Carolina’s appearance in the postseason NIT is its 11th overall and first since the 2005-06 season when the Gamecocks earned their second-consecutive postseason NIT Championship. South Carolina has won the postseason NIT twice (2005, 2006) and finished as the tournament’s runner-up in 2002. South Carolina owns a 21-8 record in postseason NIT contests.

Television Information
The contest will be televised live on ESPN2, with Dave Pasch calling play-by-play and Hubert Davis providing analysis. The game marks the fourth this season for Carolina on the ESPN family of networks.

Radio Broadcast Information
The game will be broadcast on the ISP Gamecock Radio Network with Mike Morgan on the call with play-by-play and Casey Manning handling color analyst duties. The Gamecock Radio Network reaches throughout the state of South Carolina.

NIT Border Battle
South Carolina and Davidson will matchup on Tuesday in the first round of the NIT. The contest marks the second this season for the Gamecocks against a team from North Carolina (NC Central) and its fifth matchup against a school from the Southern Conference (College of Charleston, Furman, The Citadel, Wofford).

Matchup For The Ages
Tuesday’s NIT matchup between the Gamecocks and Wildcats will feature two of the premier point guards in college basketball in South Carolina’s Devan Downey and Davidson’s Stephen Curry. Downey leads the Gamecocks in scoring (19.9 ppg), assists (4.5) and steals (3.0), while Curry leads the NCAA in scoring (28.6 ppg), while dishing 5.5 assists and adding 2.5 steals per game.

Potential Second Round Opponents
With a win, South Carolina would face the winner of Tuesday night’s St. Mary’s versus Washington State matchup. Regardless of who wins that one, a potential NIT second-round showdown would be the first time South Carolina has met either of those teams in men’s basketball.

In its history, South Carolina has faced three teams from the West Coast Conference, going 1-2 against Portland, San Francisco and Santa Clara. The Gamecocks are 2-5 all-time against half the Pac-10, having faced Arizona State, California, Southern Cal, Stanford and UCLA.

Scouting Davidson
• The Wildcats enter Tuesday’s NIT matchup with a 26-7 overall record. Davidson won the SoCon South Division title with an 18-2 record in league play this season. The Wildcats fell to the College of Charleston in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament.
• The Wildcats are led by head coach Bob McKillop, who is in his 20th season at the helm of the Davidson program. McKillop is the school and SoCon all-time winningest coach.
• Davidson played a solid non-conference schedule with contests against Purdue, Duke, NC State, West Virginia and Oklahoma. Davidson’s marqee win of the season came against West Virginia in early December.
• SoCon Player of the Year Stephen Curry leads just two Wildcats who average double figures entering Tuesday’s matchup against South Carolina. Curry has recorded 29 20-point efforts this season, including 14 30-point performances and four 40-point efforts. Curry recently tallied 43 points in a SoCon Tournament victory over Appalachian State. Curry leads the nation in points per game (28.6 ppg), is fifth in 3 point field goals per game (3.8) and 13th in steals per game (2.6).
• Senior forward Andrew Lovedale adds 12.8 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game for Davidson. Lovedale has recorded double-digit rebounds 10 times this season and has collected 10 double-doubles.