Feb. 12, 2010

South Carolina (14-9, 5-4 SEC) begins a two-game road swing with a Saturday matinee at Georgia (10-12, 2-7 SEC) set to tip off at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network (please check local listings) with Carter Blackburn and Mark Gottfried 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 13, 2010
Tipoff: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Series: South Carolina leads 47-46
Television: SEC Network
Talent: Carter Blackburn (pxp), Mark Gottfried (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

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 102nd season of basketball.
– Senior guard Devan Downey has scored 30 or more points in four of the last five games, and has tallied 30 or more in five of nine SEC contests this season.
– Senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross tallied a season high and matched his career high with 20 points in South Carolina’s win over Florida. It marked the second 20-point game of his career.
– Junior forward Sam Muldrow collected a career-high 16 rebounds at Tennessee on Feb. 6. It marked the highest rebound total for a South Carolina player since Mike Holmes collected 16 vs. NC State on Nov. 23, 2007.
– Carolina is 11-4 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– South Carolina’s 10 steals vs. Florida were the most since the Gamecocks collected 15 in a loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 10.
– Devan Downey (24) and Brandis Raley-Ross (20) each collected 20-point games vs. Florida on Wednesday, marking the first time since South Carolina’s contest at Vanderbilt (2/28/09) last season that two Carolina players have scored at least 20 points in a game.
– South Carolina is 6-7 this season when trailing at the half, including a 4-3 mark when trailing at the half in SEC play. Carolina trailed Florida 35-31 at the break on Wednesday, but out-scored the Gators 46-36 in the second half for the win.
– Downey has tallied 1,732 points as a Gamecock, which ranks fifth all-time in South Carolina history.
– South Carolina holds a +14.3 scoring margin in games it’s won this season.
– Devan Downey’s 3.0 steals per game lead the league and rank second in the nation (as of Feb. 8 NCAA stats).
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 42-41 (.506) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 6-12 (.333) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– The Gamecocks are 41-107 (.277) all-time in league road games.
– The Gamecocks are 1-6 in road games this season, including a 1-3 mark in conference games. Carolina averages 63.4 points per game in overall away contests. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads Carolina with 24.9 points per game in away contests this season.
– In league play, Downey accounts for 44% (271/615) of South Carolina’s scoring.
– Downey (23.0 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring in overall games this season. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 19 times, including the last 15 games. He ranks fifth in the nation in points per game.
– Carolina’s 6.9 blocked shots per game rank third in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.2 and Kentucky’s 7.1, and seventh 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 then-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 121-176 (.407) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 72-31 (.699) 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 427-422-1 (.503) all-time in the month of February. In that, the Gamecocks are 49-83 (.371) all-time in SEC games during the month.

Trend Setting
Gamecock trends under Darrin Horn …
– South Carolina is 16-4 when collecting at least 10 steals in a contest.
– The Gamecocks have collected at least 10 steals seven times this season – most recently vs. Florida on Feb. 10. In those contests, Devan Downey has accounted for 34 of 91 Carolina steals.
– Carolina is 16-4 when scoring at least 80 points.
– South Carolina has scored at least 80 points six times this season. Carolina’s output of 97 points vs. Jacksonville marked its highest point total of the season.
– The Gamecocks are 13-6 when blocking at least seven shots in a game.
– South Carolina has registered at least seven blocks 12 times this season, collecting a 9-3 record in those contests. To compare, the Gamecocks blocked at least seven blocks just seven times in 31 games last season.
– South Carolina is 23-4 when holding its opponents to under 45% shooting from the field.
– The Gamecocks have held opponents under 45% in 10 contest this season, most recently holding Kentucky to just 38.6% from the field.
– Carolina is 14-3 when out-rebounding its opponent.
– South Carolina is 7-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponent. The Gamecocks out-rebounded then-No. 1 Kentucky 44-40.

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, 20.1), steals (2nd, 261) and steal average (1st, 3.03). He surpassed the 1,500-point mark in the Garnet and Black vs. LSU, and is currently 13 points away from matching Jimmy Foster (1,745) for fourth in scoring all-time in Carolina history.
– Downey has registered double figures in 22 of 23 games this season and has topped the 20-point mark 14 times, including the last nine games, and the 30-point mark six times this season, including five of the last nine 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 Corchiani (NC State, 326) for 17th all-time in NCAA history in career steals.
– In his Carolina career, Downey has tallied at least 15 points and four steals 29 times, including eight times this season.
– Downey enters Saturday’s game vs. Georgia leading the SEC in scoring in overall games (23.0) and league games (30.1). Downey averages 10.1 points better than Arkansas’ Courtney Fortson, who is second in scoring with 20.0 points per game in SEC action.

By The Numbers
– 3 – South Carolina had three players score double figures for the first time since its Jan. 16th loss to Vanderbilt on Wednesday vs. Florida. Devan Downey (24 points), Brandis Raley-Ross (20) and Sam Muldrow (16) all registered double digits for Carolina in the win over the Gators.
– 9.8 – Over the course of the last four games (vs. Kentucky, vs. Georgia, at Tennessee, vs. Florida) Devan Downey is averaging 9.8 made free throws on an average of 10.5 taken per contest. From the line, Downey has tallied 39 free throws in his last four games. His 86 attempts in SEC contests lead the league.
– 79 – Sam Muldrow’s 79 blocked shots rank fourth all-time in Carolina history for blocks in a season. He is just seven blocks away from matching Brandon Wallace’s total of 86 from the 2006-07 campaign for third all-time.
– 20+ – South Carolina had six players – Austin Steed (25), Lakeem Jackson (27), Sam Muldrow (34), Devan Downey (34), Brandis Raley-Ross (33) and Ramon Galloway (24) – play 20 or more minutes in Carolina’s six-point win over Florida on Wednesday. It marked the first time in SEC play in 2010 that the Gamecocks have had six play at least 20 minutes.

Georgia Series Information
– With its one-point win over Georgia on Jan. 30, South Carolina now holds a 47-46 upperhand in the all-time series between the two schools. The Bulldogs own a 27-15 advantage in games played in Athens.
– South Carolina has won three straight and four of the last five overall. Prior to its 68-51 win over UGA last season in Athens, Carolina’s last win in Stegeman came in a 60-53 decision on Feb. 5, 2005.
– South Carolina collected a 78-77 victory in the first meeting between the two schools in Columbia just two weeks ago. Devan Downey led all scorers with 33 points, while Sam Muldrow registered a career high with 19 points, while also collecting 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double.