Jan. 29, 2010

The Gamecock men’s basketball team (12-8, 3-3 SEC) is set to host SEC East foe Georgia (9-9, 1-4 SEC) on Saturday in a 7 p.m. matchup at Colonial Life Arena. The contest will be televised on FSN with Dave Neal and Eddie Fogler on the call. Fans can also listen to Andy Demetra and Casey Manning on the Gamecock Radio Network across the state.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Series tied at 46-46
Television: FSN
Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Eddie Fogler (analyst),
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), 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.
– Following South Carolina’s thrilling upset victory of No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday, Carolina is 1-7 all-time against schools ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Gamecocks are 1-1 against Kentucky when the Wildcats are ranked No. 1. South Carolina is 1-1 in home games against No. 1s.
– The Gamecocks are 9-2 in games played at Colonial Life Arena this season – averaging 80.2 points per game in those contests. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads Carolina with 22.9 points per game in home contests this season.
– Carolina is 9-4 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– Downey has tallied 1,649 points as a Gamecock, which ranks fifth all-time in South Carolina history.
– South Carolina holds a +16.1 scoring margin in games it’s won this season.
– Devan Downey’s 3.1 steals per game lead the league and rank second in the nation (as of Jan. 29 NCAA stats).
– South Carolina owns a 77-69 (.527) record all-time in SEC homes games.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 88-16 (.846) all-time in home games. South Carolina is 25-5 (.833) at Colonial Life Arena under Horn’s direction.
– In league play, Downey accounts for 46.2% (188/407) of South Carolina’s scoring.
– Downey (22.4 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring in overall games this season. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 16 times, including the last 12 games. He ranks eighth in the nation in points per game.
– Carolina’s 7.2 blocked shots per game rank third in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.4 and Kentucky’s 7.2 per contest, and eighth in the nation. Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.4 blocks per game, second in the SEC and eighth in the nation.
– The Gamecocks are in their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference. Carolina owns a 119-175 (.405) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 70-30 (.700) 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 396-337 (.540) all-time record in the month of January.

Star Watch
– Senior point guard Devan Downey continues to be the star on both ends of the court for South Carolina. Downey surpassed the 2,000-point plateau for his career (including one-year total from Cincinnati, 403) on Jan. 23 at Florida, connecting on the third of three free throws with 16 seconds left on the clock in the opening half. South Carolina honored Downey for the career mark prior to his 30-point effort in helping the Gamecocks upset No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday.
– Downey ranks among the top five in several categories in the Carolina record book, including scoring average (3rd, 19.9), steals (2nd, 254) and steal average (1st, 3.06). He surpassed the 1,500-point mark in the Garnet and Black vs. LSU, and is currently 96 points away from matching Jimmy Foster (1,745) for fourth in scoring all-time in Carolina history.
– Downey has registered double figures in 19 of 20 games this season and has topped the 20-point mark 11 times, including eight of the last nine games, and the 30-point mark five times this season, including four of the last six games.
– If Downey continues to register three steals per game, he will near the 100-steal mark for the second time in his career. Downey holds the SEC single-season record for steals with 103, which he set during the 2007-08 campaign. Downey is two steals shy of matching Chris Garner (Memphis, 321) for 20th all-time in NCAA history in career steals.
– In his Carolina career, Downey has tallied at least 15 points and four steals 28 times, including seven times this season.
– Downey enters Saturday’s game vs. Georgia leading the SEC in scoring in overall games (22.4) and league games (31.3). Downey averages 10.9 points better than Arkansas’ Courtney Fortson, who is second in scoring with 20.4 points per game in SEC action after pacing the Razorbacks with 35 points in their victory over Mississippi State on Thursday.

Downey Setting SEC Scoring History
– Downey’s 31.3 points per game average in SEC contests thus far ranks as the highest scoring average for a Carolina player in SEC games since the Gamecocks joined the league prior to the 1992 season. The current high-water mark in SEC games is Tre Kelley, who scored 21.3 points per game in the 2007 season. Downey also scored 19.9 per game (2009) and 18.1 (2008) to rank in the top five on the Carolina list. Top 10 is below.

Single-Season PPG in SEC Games
1. Devan Downey (2010), 31.3
2. Tre Kelley (2007), 21.3
3. Devan Downey (2009), 19.9
4. Larry Davis (1996), 18.6
5. BJ McKie (1998), 18.4
6. Devan Downey (2008), 18.1
7. BJ McKie (1999), 17.7
8. BJ McKie (1997), 17.6
9. Jamie Watson (1994), 17.4
10. Carlos Powell (2005), 17.0

By The Numbers
– 5 – Junior forward Sam Muldrow blocked five shots against Kentucky – the most for the Florence, S.C., native since he blocked a career-high eight vs. Boston College on Dec. 30 – a span of eight games. In five career games vs. the Wildcats, Muldrow has blocked 16 shots (3.2 per game), including seven in last year’s 77-59 win over UK in Columbia.
– 8 – Junior forward Johndre Jefferson matched a career high with eight rebounds vs. Kentucky.
– 2 – South Carolina had only two turnovers in the second half after committing nine in the first half versus Kentucky on Tuesday for a total of 11 in the contest. South Carolina ranks second in the SEC with a +4.8 turnover margin.
– 62 – The Gamecocks held Kentucky to its lowest offensive output of the season on Tuesday, as the Wildcats scored just 62 points in the contest. UK’s previous season low was 64 points in a three-point win over then-No. 14 UConn in mid-December.
– 18,000 – Tuesday’s sellout was the fourth for men’s basketball in Colonial Life Arena history. Two of the previous three sellouts came during the 2008-09 season against Georgia and Tennessee.