Feb. 5, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (13-8, 4-3 SEC) resumes league play when it travels to face No. 14/14 Tennessee (17-4, 5-2 SEC) on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The contest will tip at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN with Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes 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, February 6, 2010
Tipoff: 6 p.m. ET
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Series: Tennessee leads, 31-23
Television: ESPN
Talent: Brad Nessler (pxp), Jimmy Dykes (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.
– The Gamecocks will play five of their last nine regular-season games on the road, beginning with Saturday’s contest at No. 14 Tennessee.
– Senior guard Devan Downey has scored 30 or more points in each of the last three games, and has tallied 30 or more in five of seven SEC contests this season.
– In the 70th game of his college career, junior forward Sam Muldrow collected his first career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds in South Carolina’s 78-77 win over Georgia (1/30).
– Saturday’s contest vs. Tennessee marks the sixth of 10 for the Gamecocks on the ESPN family of networks during the 2009-10 regular season. South Carolina holds an 11-13 record in games played on the family of networks since the 2005-06 season.
– The Gamecocks are 1-5 in road games this season, including a 1-2 mark in conference games. Carolina averages 65.2 points per game in overall away contests. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads Carolina with 24.7 points per game in away contests this season.
– Carolina is 10-4 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– Downey has tallied 1,682 points as a Gamecock, which ranks fifth all-time in South Carolina history.
– South Carolina holds a +14.9 scoring margin in games it’s won this season.
– Devan Downey’s 3.0 steals per game lead the league and rank third in the nation (as of Feb. 1 NCAA stats).
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 42-40 (.512) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 6-11 (.353) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– The Gamecocks are 41-106 (.279) all-time in league road games.
– In league play, Downey accounts for 45.5% (221/485) of South Carolina’s scoring.
– Downey (22.9 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring in overall games this season. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 17 times, including the last 13 games. He ranks fourth in the nation in points per game.
– Carolina’s 7.1 blocked shots per game rank second in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.4, and sixth in the nation. Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.4 blocks per game, second in the SEC and seventh in the nation.
– Following South Carolina’s thrilling upset victory of No. 1 Kentucky on Jan. 26, 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 in their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference. Carolina owns a 120-175 (.407) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 71-30 (.703) 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 426-421-1 (.503) all-time in the month of February. In that, the Gamecocks are 48-82 (.369) all-time in SEC games during the month.

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 Jan. 26.
– Downey ranks among the top five in several categories in the Carolina record book, including scoring average (3rd, 20.0), steals (2nd, 256) and steal average (1st, 3.05). He surpassed the 1,500-point mark in the Garnet and Black vs. LSU, and is currently 63 points away from matching Jimmy Foster (1,745) for fourth in scoring all-time in Carolina history.
– Downey has registered double figures in 20 of 21 games this season and has topped the 20-point mark 12 times, including the last seven games, and the 30-point mark six times this season, including five of the last seven 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 four steals shy of matching Marques Green (St. Bonaventure, 325) for 18th 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. Tennessee leading the SEC in scoring in overall games (22.9) and league games (31.6). Downey averages 11.6 points better than Georgia’s Trey Thompkins, who is second in scoring with 20.0 points per game in SEC action.

Downey Collects SEC, National Awards
– After a stellar week in which he averaged 31.5 points, 3.0 rebounds 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, Devan Downey earned his first SEC Player of the Week Award of the season on Monday, and was later named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week (USBWA) on Tuesday, his first career national honor.

Tennessee Series Information
– Tennessee holds a 31-23 advantage in the all-time series against South Carolina, including a 20-7 upperhand in games played in Knoxville.
– The Vols have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two schools and seven straight in Knoxville.
– Carolina’s last road win vs. UT came in a 94-60 victory on Jan. 23, 2002. Then-freshman Carlos Powell led Carolina with 19 points in the contest. The victory still stands as the largest in an SEC road win for the Gamecocks.

Spinella Key Off The Bench In League Play
– Freshman guard Stephen Spinella has been a key role player for the Gamecocks during their current two-game winning streak, which includes the Jan. 26 victory over Kentucky. Spinella averaged 7.0 minutes, 1.4 points (4-17, .235) and 1.1 rebounds per game in non-conference play. In seven SEC games, the Colts Neck, N.J., native, has seen his minutes improve to 10.3 per game, while he contributes 2.6 points (7-15, .467) per outing. Spinella enjoyed his best two-game stretch in the Garnet and Black last week – collecting two rebounds and one steal vs. Kentucky, before adding six points, one assist and one block vs. Georgia.