Nov. 26, 2009

The University of South Carolina men’s basketball team (4-1) will host Jacksonville (0-2) in non-conference action at Colonial Life Arena on Friday evening. The contest will be televised on SportSouth with tip time set for 7 p.m. Fans can also access the contest on the Gamecock Radio Network affiliate in respective areas across the state.

As Gamecock fans travel to Columbia for the upcoming Clemson football contest on Nov. 28, a ticket promotion for the Jacksonville men’s basketball game on Nov. 27 has been announced. Fans who show their ticket for the Clemson football game at the box office at Colonial Life Arena for the Jacksonville contest may receive one free ticket for every full priced ticket they purchase for the basketball game. Tickets may be purchased at www.GamecocksOnline.com via the ticket link, by calling 1-800-4SC-FANS or by visiting the Colonial Life Arena ticket office.

GAME INFORMATION

South Carolina Game Notes vs. Jacksonville

Date: Friday, November 27, 2009
Tipoff: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: South Carolina leads 2-1
Television: SportSouth
Talent: Mike Hogewood (pbp), Dan Bonner (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Talent: Andy Demetra (pbp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 102nd season of basketball.
– Carolina played five games in nine days to start the season. The Gamecocks began the season with four straight victories for the second consecutive year.
– Carolina’s 8.2 blocked shots per game rank third in the Southeastern Conference. Junior center Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.4 blocks per game, second in the SEC.
– Senior Devan Downey (16.8 ppg, t-8th) leads the team and ranks among the top 20 scorers in the SEC. Downey has led Carolina in scoring three times this season, with a season-high 23 points in the season opener against Alabama A&M.
– South Carolina is 72-25 (.742) all-time in the month of November. Carolina went 4-1 last season during the month. The Gamecocks are 8-2 (.800) in the month under head coach Darrin Horn.
– South Carolina is 24-6 all-time against current schools in the Atlantic Sun. The last Gamecock victory over an A-Sun opponent came in a 92-52 win over Campbell on Nov. 28, 2007. Then-sophomores Devan Downey and Brandis Raley-Ross each netted 20 points to lead Carolina in the win. The 20 points still rank as Raley-Ross’ career high. He hit 7-of-8 from the floor, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in that contest.
– South Carolina has four players currently averaging double-figures entering Friday’s contest vs. Jacksonville, led by Devan Downey (16.8), Dominique Archie (14.4), Mike Holmes (11.8) and Brandis Raley-Ross (10.4).
– Six Gamecocks average at least 19 minutes per contest, while five average at least 20.

By The Numbers
– 17 – the number of rebounds senior guard Devan Downey has on the year. All 17 of those boards have come on the defensive end. Downey is one of five Gamecocks averaging at least 3.4 rebounds per game.
– 57 – the number of combined turnovers South Carolina had in its first three contests of the year. The Gamecocks have taken much better care of the basketball in their last two games, averaging just 10.0 turnovers per game compared to 19.0 per game in the first three contests of the season.
– +5.2 – South Carolina’s turnover margin, which ranks second in the SEC. The Gamecocks have forced their opponents to commit 103 turnovers on the year – 20.6 turnovers per game.
– 32 – the number of times Mike Holmes has led the team in rebounding during his Gamecock career. Holmes led South Carolina on the boards against South Florida (8) and Miami (7) at the Charleston Classic.

Charleston Classic Recap
– Senior guard Devan Downey was named to the all-tournament squad at the Classic. Downey averaged 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game at the event.
– Prior to advancing to the championship game of the Charleston Classic, South Carolina’s last championship game appearance in a regular-season tournament came during the 2003-04 season when the Gamecocks defeated Richmond 67-61 in the title game of the Guardians Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
– Senior forward Dominique Archie became the 41st member of the South Carolina 1,000 point club against South Florida.
– South Carolina has had its ups and downs throughout the early 2009-10 campaign at the free-throw line, but its solid effort at the charity stripe earned the Gamecocks their victory over USF. Hitting 11-of-14 at the line in the final 1:49 against USF, Devan Downey (3-4), Dominique Archie (2-2), Sam Muldrow (1-2), Ramon Galloway (3-4) and Brandis Raley-Ross (2-2) put up a solid performance at the line for Carolina down the stretch to secure the victory.
– It was another block party for the Gamecocks against the Bulls. Led by Sam Muldrow with six – one shy of matching his career high – Carolina collected seven blocks in the contest.
– South Carolina kicked off the Charleston Classic with a 78-68 victory over La Salle. After a slow start to the contest, Carolina out-scored the Explorers 14-6 in the final 4:41 of the opening half, and put together a 13-4 run in the first five minutes of the second half to pull away.
– South Carolina shot a stellar (17-of-30) 56.7 percent from the floor en route to 40 second-half points against La Salle. The mark was Carolina’s best single-half shooting percentage since hitting 17-of-25 (68.0%) in the second half vs. Presbyterian on Dec. 23, 2008.

Scouting Jacksonville
– Jacksonville, picked by the Atlantic Sun coaches and media to win the A-Sun this season, enters Friday’s contest with an 0-2 mark on the year after losses to Florida State and most recently California.
– Senior point guard Ben Smith, senior forward Lehmon Colbert and junior forward Ayron Hardy were named Preseason All-A-Sun.
– Smith is the only Dolphin averaging double-figures entering Friday’s contest with 13.0 points per game. Colbert leads the team with 4.5 rebounds per contest.
– Jacksonville captured the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season crown and advanced to the title game of the A-Sun Tournament last season. The Dolphins fell to Florida in the opening round of the NIT last March.

Trend Watch
Gamecock trends under Darrin Horn
– South Carolina is 12-4 when scoring at least 80 points.
– South Carolina is 2-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points. Carolina’s 90 points scored against Georgia Southern was its most since a 97-93 loss at Florida on Feb. 3, 2009.
– The Gamecocks are 8-0 when dishing at least 14 assists.
– Carolina collected 18 assists in its victory over Georgia Southern on Nov. 16 – the most since posting 20 in a 90-43 victory over NC Central on Dec. 16, 2008.
– The Gamecocks are 18-1 under Horn when collecting at least nine steals in a contest.
– South Carolina finished last season ranked ninth in the nation with 9.2 steals per game. South Carolina collected a season-best 11 steals – led by Devan Downey with four – against Miami.

Series Information
– South Carolina holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against Jacksonville. All three games of the series have been played in Columbia.
– Jacksonville won the first matchup between the two schools 79-68 on Feb. 21, 1979.
– South Carolina has won the last two matchups between the two schools. BJ McKie scored 20 points and Bud Johnson pulled down 12 boards to lead the Gamecocks in a 73-56 victory over the Dolphins on Nov. 30, 1998. More recently, Tre’ Kelley tallied 20 points for Carolina in an 80-73 win over Jacksonville on Dec. 29, 2006. Brandis Raley-Ross (6 points) and Evka Baniulis (3) also saw action in that contest.

Galloway Solid Beyond The Arc
– Freshman guard Ramon Galloway had a breakout performance against Miami in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native hit 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the contest. It marked the first time a Gamecock freshman hit at least four 3s in a contest since Evka Baniulis hit five against Auburn on Jan. 31, 2007. Galloway averages 7.4 points per contest entering Friday’s matchup against Jacksonville.