Jan. 15, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (11-5, 2-0 SEC) will host Vanderbilt (13-3, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday in a 6 p.m. matchup at Colonial Life Arena. The contest will be televised on CSS with Nate Ross and Dave Baker on the call. Additionally, it will be shown on ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com. Fans can also listen to Andy Demetra and Casey Manning on the Gamecock Radio Network across the state.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2010
Tipoff: 6 p.m.
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Series is tied 22-22
Television: CSS; ESPN Full Court
Talent: Nate Ross (pxp), Dave Baker (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
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office. (1-800-4SC-FANS).

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 102nd season of basketball.
– Carolina is 9-3 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– The Gamecocks are 2-0 in Southeastern Conference action for the first time since the 1997 campaign. South Carolina opened that season 11-0 before a loss to Georgia halted the streak. Carolina finished that season 15-1 for its only SEC regular-season title in school history.
– The Gamecocks are 9-0 when holding their opponent to under 70 points this season.
– South Carolina holds a +17.0 scoring margin in games its won this season.
– The Gamecocks are 8-1 in games played at Colonial Life Arena this season – averaging 81.7 points per game in those contests. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads Carolina with 20.7 points per game in home contests this season.
– The Gamecocks snapped a three game road losing streak with their first road win of the season at Auburn last Saturday. Carolina finished last season with a 3-5 record in SEC road games (wins at Kentucky, at Alabama, at Georgia).
– Downey (20.1 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 12 times this season, including the last eight games.
– Carolina’s 7.7 blocked shots per game rank second in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.1 per contest, and fifth in the nation (as of Jan. 15 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 3.1 steals per game lead the league and rank second in the nation.
– The Gamecocks are in their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2010. Carolina owns a 118-172 (.407) all-time record in SEC play. South Carolina owns a 77-68 (.531) record all-time in SEC homes games.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 69-27 (.719) all-time in league play. Horn led Carolina to a 10-6 record in SEC action during his first year in Columbia.
– Darrin Horn led teams are 87-15 (.852) all-time in home games. South Carolina is 24-4 (.857) at Colonial Life Arena under Horn’s direction.
– The Gamecocks own a 395-334 (.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
– 74 – Senior point guard Devan Downey needs just 74 points to reach the 2,000-point plateau for his career, including his one-year total from Cincinnati (403).
– 3 – In its two league games thus far, South Carolina has held its opponents to a combined three made 3s – Auburn tallied two and LSU managed just one. Entering its game against SC, Auburn averaged 8.2 made 3s per game, and LSU 4.6. South Carolina currently leads the SEC in 3-point field goal defense (3-20, .150)
– +6.0 – South Carolina out-rebounded LSU by six rebounds – its best effort on the boards since out-rebounding Richmond by 11 (45/34). It marked the first time South Carolina out-rebounded an SEC opponent since holding a 45/39 advantage on the road at Florida last Feb. 3.
– 44.9% – Over the course of its last two games, South Carolina has relied on the 3-point basket for nearly 45% of its total offense. The Gamecocks have hit 22 3s in their last two games, accounting for 66 of 147 total points. Overall on the year, South Carolina’s effort from beyond the arc accounts for 29.0% of its overall offense, free throws account for 16.3% and shots made inside the 3-point line account for 54.6% of South Carolina’s total point production.

Key Stat
– South Carolina is 5-0 in games in which it hits at least 50% from the field. From beyond the arc, the Gamecocks are 4-1 when connecting on at least 40% of their attempts.

Vanderbilt Series Information
– The series is tied at 22-22. South Carolina holds an 11-9 advantage in games played in Columbia.
– Each team won on its respective home court last season. South Carolina earned an 86-76 victory behind four in double-figures (led by Downey’s 18) in the first meeting in Columbia on Jan. 28. The Commodores evened the season mark with a 96-83 win behind A.J. Ogilvy’s 28 and Jermaine Beal’s 27 points in Nashville exactly one month later on Feb. 28.
– South Carolina’s victory over Vanderbilt in Columbia last season snapped a five-game losting streak to the Commodores. Vanderbilt has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including three of the last five in Columbia.

Devan Downey
– After what some called a slow start to begin his senior campaign, Devan Downey has been key to recent Gamecock success. Downey – who surpassed the 1,500-point plateau for his career in the Garnet and Black vs. LSU on Wednesday – has registered double-figures in 15-of-16 games this season and has topped the 20-point mark seven times, including in four of the last five games.
– If Downey continues to register three steals a game, he will near the 100-steal mark for the second time in his career. Downey holds the SEC single-season record for steals in a season with 103, which he set during the 2007-08 campaign. Downey is four steals shy of matching Clarence Caesar (LSU) and Shawnta Rogers (George Washington) for 26th in NCAA Division I history with 310 career steals. Caesar holds the SEC record with 310.
– In his Carolina career Downey has tallied at least 15 points and four steals 26 times, including five times this season.