Jan. 19, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (11-6, 2-1 SEC) travels to face No. 22/24 Ole Miss (13-4, 1-2 SEC) in a midweek matchup at C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum in Oxford on Wednesday. The contest will be shown on CSS, ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com and will tip at 9 p.m. ET with Dave Baker and Nate Ross on the call. Fans can also listen to Andy Demetra and Casey Manning on the Gamecock Radio Network across the state.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum (9,061)
Series: South Carolina leads 13-12
Television: CSS; ESPN Full Court
Talent: Dave Baker (pxp), Nate Ross (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.
– Carolina is 9-4 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– 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 it’s won this season.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 42-38 (.525) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 6-9 (.400) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– Devan Downey’s 3.2 steals per game lead the league and rank second in the nation.
– South Carolina averages 69.5 points per game on the road this season. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads the Gamecocks with 21.8 points per game on the road, while junior forward Sam Muldrow collects 6.5 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game in road contests.
– The Gamecocks snapped a three-game road losing streak with their first road win of the season at Auburn on Jan. 9. Carolina finished last season with a 3-5 record in SEC road games (wins at Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia).
– Downey (20.9 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 13 times this season, including the last nine games.
– Carolina’s 7.4 blocked shots per game rank second in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.5 per contest, and sixth in the nation (as of Jan. 17 NCAA stats). Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.3 blocks per game, second in the SEC and ninth in the nation.
– The Gamecocks are in their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2010. Carolina owns a 118-173 (.405) all-time record in SEC play. The Gamecocks are 41-104 (.283) all-time in league road games.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 69-28 (.711) all-time in league play. Horn led Carolina to a 10-6 record in SEC action during his first year in Columbia.
– The Gamecocks own a 395-335 (.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
– 39 – Senior point guard Devan Downey needs just 39 points to reach the 2,000-point plateau for his career, including his one-year total from Cincinnati (403).
– 15 – The Gamecocks collected an SEC season-high 15 steals in the loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. It marked the highest total in the category for South Carolina since the Gamecocks earned 16 vs. Furman on Dec. 21. It marked the highest for Carolina in an SEC contest since also collecting 15 steals vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 26, 2000.
– 3 – South Carolina opponents during league play average just 3.0 made 3s per game (Auburn 2; LSU 1; Vanderbilt 6). Carolina leads the SEC in strictly league games in 3-point field goal defense (.273).
– 3 – South Carolina’s three blocked shots vs. Vanderbilt matched a season low for the squad (3 vs. Clemson).

Key Stat
– South Carolina is 5-0 in games in which it hits at least 50% from the field. The Gamecocks are 4-2 when connecting on at least 40% of their attempts from beyond the arc.

Ole Miss Series Information
– South Carolina holds a 13-12 advantage in the all-time series vs. Ole Miss, however, the Rebels hold an 8-1 advantage in games played in Oxford. South Carolina’s 80-77 win over Ole Miss at Tad Smith Coliseum on Feb. 2, 2008 marks its lone victory in Oxford.
– The Gamecocks have won the last three games in the series by a combined 27 points. Paced by Devan Downey’s 22 points, Carolina earned an 82-71 win over the Rebels last season in Columbia