Nov. 12, 2009

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (0-0) begins its season with the first of five games in a nine-day stretch on Friday, hosting the Alabama A&M (0-0) Bulldogs in non-conference action at Colonial Life Arena. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. The contest, which is the first meeting between the two schools, marks the season opener for both. The contest will be televised by SportSouth, while fans can access the game on the radio via the Gamecock Radio Network affiliate in respective areas across the state.

GAME DAY CENTRAL
South Carolina vs. Alabama A&M

South Carolina Game Notes

Date: Friday, November 13, 2009
Tipoff: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: First Meeting
Television: SportSouth
Talent: Rick Waltz (play-by-play), Eddie Fogler (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Talent: Andy Demetra (play-by-play), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office.

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 102nd season of basketball.
– For the second-consecutive year, South Carolina opened its season with an exhibition victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. The Gamecocks defeated the Panthers 78-55 behind a game-best 17 points from Carolina center Sam Muldrow.
– Carolina owns a 72-29 (.713) all-time record in season openers, including a 9-1 record in the last 10 seasons. The Gamecocks ride an eight-game winning streak in season openers into Friday’s contest against Alabama A&M. The last season-opening loss for the Gamecocks came against the Ohio Valley’s Tennessee Tech during the 2001 season, as the Golden Eagles edged the Gamecocks, 73-67. South Carolina won last year’s opener over Jacksonville State, 89-76.
– Darrin Horn is 5-1 all-time in season openers. Horn’s only loss in a season opener came coincidentally against an SEC school, as Auburn got the best of Western Kentucky in 2003.
– South Carolina is 68-26 (.723) all-time in the month of November. Carolina went 4-1 last season during the month.
– South Carolina is 1-0 all-time in games played against members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Carolina defeated Southern 98-69 during the 1991-92 season.
– Darrin Horn enters his second season at the helm of the South Carolina program for the 2009-10 season. Horn led Carolina to a 21-10 record, including a 10-6 mark in league action and a share of the SEC East title last season.
– The Gamecocks received one vote in the recent preseason coaches poll, while Carolina received 28 votes in the preseason AP poll.
– Senior forward Dominique Archie has started all 93 games of his Carolina career. Archie needs just 59 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
– The Gamecocks were picked by the media to finish fourth in the highly-competitive SEC East. Carolina shared the SEC Eastern Division title with Tennessee last season.
– Carolina returns a trio of All-SEC performers from last season in seniors Devan Downey, Dominique Archie and Brandis Raley-Ross. The trio combined for 36.1 points, 6.6 asissts and 4.8 steals per game last year for Carolina.
– South Carolina collected a 16-3 record in games played at Colonial Life Arena last season, including a 7-1 mark in SEC contests.
– Senior point guard Devan Downey was tabbed a preseason first-team all-SEC performer by the media and was a unanimous first-team pick by league coaches. Classmate Dominique Archie was selected to the preseason second team by the coaches.

Record Watch
Several Gamecocks currently rank in the career record chart in various categories. Senior guard Devan Downey needs just 81 steals to surpass Chuck Eidson (272) for the most all-time, while senior forward Dominique Archie will climb the career blocks chart during the 2009-10 campaign, as he is currently tied for 10th all-time with 86. Keep an eye on senior forward Evka Baniulis, who currently ranks second in 3-point career percentage (.430), and senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross, who is sixth on the chart with a .377 career 3-point percentage.

Garnet And Black Welcome Five Newcomers
South Carolina signed freshmen Ramon Galloway, Lakeem Jackson and Stephen Spinella, while also adding junior college transfer Johndre Jefferson and walk-on Malik Cooke to its 2009-10 roster. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Cooke will not be eligible to play this season.

Downey On Naismith, Wooden Preseason Watch Lists
For the second-consecutive year, senior guard Devan Downey has been named to both the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch Lists.

Gamecock TV Coverage
With the Southeastern Conference’s historic television deals with CBS and ESPN that begin this season, the Gamecocks will be featured in at least 28 live television broadcasts during the upcoming regular season. Each of South Carolina’s conference contests will be televised, with seven games to be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, five on the SEC Network, three on CSS and one on FSN.

Up Next For Carolina
– South Carolina continues action at home when it hosts Georgia Southern from the Southern Conference on Monday, Nov. 16, at Colonial Life Arena.
– Georgia Southern, which finished last season with an 8-22 overall record, is led by first-year head coach and former Eagle standout Charlton Young. It is Young’s first college head coaching position.
– Senior Antionio Hanson is the top returning scorer for Georgia Southern at 12.0 points per game, while senior Tyler Troupe is the top returning rebounder with 9.9 boards per game.
– Georgia Southern will host Reinhardt on Friday in its season opener.
– South Carolina holds an 11-3 upperhand in the all-time series with Georgia Southern. The teams have not met since a 57-45 Carolina victory in Columbia in Feb. 1996.

Charleston Classic
South Carolina will stay in its home state to compete in the second annual Charleston Classic this month. The Classic, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games over the course of four days, Nov. 19-22. Each team will compete in one game per day, with the two teams that remain undefeated facing off in a championship contest on Sunday, Nov. 22. South Carolina opens tournament action versus La Salle.

Consecutive 3-Pointers Made
South Carolina has made at least one 3-pointer in 234 straight games dating back to an 0-of-19 performance from beyond the arc in a 64-57 loss to Mississippi State on March 2, 2002.