Jan. 8, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (9-5, 0-0 SEC) will travel to Auburn, Ala., on Saturday to face the Auburn Tigers (9-6, 0-0 SEC) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools. The contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network (WIS in the Columbia area), with a pregame studio show beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET prior to the tip off of the South Carolina vs. Auburn contest at 1:47 p.m. ET. Dave Lamont and Joe Dean will have the call on the SEC Network, while Andy Demetra and Casey Manning will have the call on the Gamecock Radio Network.

Click here to download the Gamecock ISP Sports Network Scene Setter for the Auburn game

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2010
Tipoff: 1:47 p.m. ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Arena: Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (10,500)
Series: Auburn leads 17-13
Television: SEC Network
(WIS – Columbia)
Talent: Dave LaMont (pbp), Joe Dean (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pbp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Multimedia: ESPN360.com

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 102nd season of basketball.
– South Carolina is 8-3 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– The Gamecocks enter their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2010. Carolina owns a 116-172 (.403) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 67-27 (.613) all-time in league play. Horn led Carolina to a 10-6 record in SEC action during his first year in Columbia.
– South Carolina is 6-12 all-time in SEC openers, including a 2-0 mark in openers against Auburn. The Gamecocks defeated Auburn 68-56 in last season’s league opener. Zam Fredrick led all scorers with 27 points in the contest.
– Saturday’s contest marks Carolina’s first road contest to begin the league season since an 80-73 loss at Vanderbilt to kick off the 2008 campaign.
– The Gamecocks look for their first road victory of the season in Saturday’s contest at Auburn. Carolina has dropped three straight road contests this season – at Clemson, at Wofford and most recently at Boston College.
– Darrin Horn led teams are 41-38 (.519) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 5-9 (.357) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– South Carolina averages 66.0 points per game on the road this season. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads the Gamecocks with 18.0 points per game on the road, while senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross leads the squad with 6.0 rebounds and junior forward Sam Muldrow collects 4.3 blocks per game in road contests.
– Downey (18.5 ppg, 2nd) leads the team and ranks among the top three scorers in the SEC. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 10 times this season, including the last six games. Downey’s 20 points vs. Baylor and 18 points vs. Longwood led the Gamecocks.
– Carolina’s 8.1 blocked shots per game rank second in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.13 per contest, and fourth in the nation (as of Jan. 4 NCAA stats). Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.4 blocks per game, second in the SEC and ninth in the nation.
– Devan Downey’s 3.0 steals per game lead the league and rank tied for third in the nation.
– The Gamecocks own a 393-334 (.541) all-time record in the month of January. Darrin Horn led South Carolina to a 7-2 record during the first month of the year in 2009, including notable wins over then-No. 19 Baylor and then-No. 24 Kentucky – both road victories.

By The Numbers
– 136 – Senior point guard Devan Downey needs just 136 points to reach the 2,000-point plateau for his career, including his one-year total from Cincinnati (403). The Chester, S.C., native needs just 39 points to reach 1,500 in his Gamecock career. Only eight players in South Carolina history have reached 1,500 points in the Garnet and Black.
– 9.7 – South Carolina leads the SEC with 9.7 steals per contest. The Gamecocks also led the league at the conclusion of last season with 9.1 steals per outing.
– 37 – Paced by Evka Baniulis’ 15 points, Carolina’s 37 bench points vs. Longwood marked a season high. South Carolina is 8-2 in games in which its bench out-scores that of its opponent.
– 20.1 – Propelled by its defensive pressure, the Gamecock offense averages 20.1 points off of turnovers per game. South Carolina opponents average 19.1 turnovers per contest. Only Tennessee (20.2) forces its opponents into more turnovers than South Carolina.

Auburn Series Information
– Auburn holds a 17-13 upperhand in the all-time series with South Carolina, including a 6-3 advantage in games played in Auburn.
– South Carolina has won two straight, and three of the last four in the series. The Gamecocks earned a 69-63 win over the Tigers in their last trip to Beard-Eves Memorial Coliseum during the 2008 SEC campaign.

Scouting Auburn
– Auburn enters Saturday’s contest with a 9-6 overall record after winning its last four contests. The Tigers most recently defeated West Georgia, a D-II squad, 96-72 on Tuesday.
– Auburn is led by DeWayne Reed with 15.7 points per outing. Reed also paces the squad with 4.5 assists. Lucas Hargrove pulls down a team-best 7.0 rebounds and Frankie Sullivan swipes 1.9 steals per outing.
– The Tigers’ most notable win of the season came in a 68-67 victory over Virginia on Dec. 7.
– Auburn and South Carolina have played two common opponents this season – Alabama A&M and Georgia Southern. Both the Tigers and Gamecocks are 2-0 in those contests.

Darrin Horn vs. Auburn
– South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn is 1-1 all-time against Auburn. Horn’s first career game as a college head coach came against the Tigers. Auburn earned an 86-64 win at home over Horn’s Western Kentucky squad on Nov. 21, 2003. Carolina’s 68-56 win over Auburn last season evened the series for Horn.

2009 SEC Recap
– With its 10-6 record, South Carolina was the 2009 SEC East Division Co-Champions with Tennessee.
– South Carolina reached double-digit victories in league play for the first time since the 1998 SEC campaign when the Gamecocks earned the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament with an 11-5 record in conference play. South Carolina has reached double-digit league victories just three times (1997, 15-1; 1998, 11-5; 2009, 10-6) in its 18-year history in the SEC.

Gamecock Trends Under Darrin Horn …
– South Carolina is 15-3 when collecting at least 10 steals in a contest.
– The Gamecocks have collected at least 10 steals 5 times this season. In those contests, Devan Downey has accounted for 24 of 66 Carolina steals.
– Carolina is 15-4 when scoring at least 80 points.
– South Carolina has scored at least 80 points five times this season. Carolina’s output of 97 points vs. Jacksonville marked its highest point total of the season.
– The Gamecocks are 11-6 when blocking at least seven shots in a game.
– South Carolina has registered at least seven blocks 10 times this season, collecting a 7-3 record in those contests. To compare, the Gamecocks blocked at least seven blocks just seven times in 31 games last season.