Feb. 16, 2010

The South Carolina men’s hoops team (14-10, 5-5 SEC) is back in action on Wednesday when it travels to face SEC West leader Arkansas (13-12, 6-4 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. The contest will tip at 9 p.m. ET on CSS, which will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable channel 165 in the Columbia area, with Dave Baker and Will Perdue 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, February 17, 2010
Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Arena: Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
Series: Arkansas leads 12-9
Television: CSS
Talent: Dave Baker (pxp), Will Perdue (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.
– The Gamecocks look to break a four-game road losing streak at Arkansas on Wednesday.
– In Darrin Horn’s one-plus seasons at South Carolina, the Gamecocks are 12-6 in their next game following a loss.
– Wednesday’s game marks the first for Darrin Horn at Bud Walton Arena.
– South Carolina ranks seventh in the nation in turnover margin (4.5).
– Senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross matched his career-high with 20 points vs. Florida on Feb. 10. He is averaging 19.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game over the last two games.
– Senior guard Devan Downey has scored 30 or more points in four of the last six games, and has tallied 30 or more in five of 10 SEC contests this season.
– 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. 16.
– Downey has tallied 1,750 points as a Gamecock, which ranks fourth all-time in South Carolina history. He surpassed Jimmy Foster (1,745) for fourth in scoring all-time with his 18 points at Georgia.
– 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 Feb. 10, but out-scored the Gators 46-36 in the second half for the win.
– Devan Downey (24) and Brandis Raley-Ross (20) each collected 20-point games vs. Florida on Feb. 10, 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 holds a +14.3 scoring margin in games it has won this season.
– Devan Downey’s 2.9 steals per game lead the league and rank third in the nation (as of Feb. 15 NCAA stats).
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 42-42 (.500) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 6-13 (.316) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– The Gamecocks are 41-108 (.275) all-time in league road games.
– The Gamecocks are 1-7 in road games this season, including a 1-4 mark in conference games. Carolina averages 63.1 points per game in overall away contests. Senior point guard Devan Downey leads Carolina with 24.0 points per game in away contests this season.
– In league play, Downey accounts for 43% (289/676) of South Carolina’s scoring.
– Downey (22.8 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring in overall games this season. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 20 times, including the last 16 games. He ranks fourth in the nation in points per game.
– Carolina’s 6.7 blocked shots per game rank third in the Southeastern Conference, behind Mississippi State’s 8.2 and Kentucky’s 7.0, and eighth in the nation. Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.3 blocks per game, second in the SEC and 10th 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 121-177 (.406) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 72-32 (.692) 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 427-423-1 (.502) all-time in the month of February. In that, the Gamecocks are 49-84 (.368) all-time in SEC games during the month.
– The 2009-10 Gamecocks are 18 blocks shy of having the third-highest block total for a single season. The 2003-04 squad is currently third with 177 total blocks.
– Sam Muldrow’s 79 blocks are the fourth-most in a single-season in Carolina history and the most since Brandon Wallace had 86 blocks during the 2006-07 campaign.

By The Numbers
– 12 – Devan Downey needs just 12 steals to surpass Chuck Eidson (272) for the Gamecock record for career steals. Eidson played at South Carolina from 1999-03. He ranks 35th in Carolina history with 1,067 career points.
– 19.0 – Senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross is averaging 19.0 points per game over his last two games, matching his career high with 20 points vs. Florida before posting 18 at Georgia on Saturday. Raley-Ross – a career 7.2 points per game contributor – is second on the Gamecock squad with 11.0 points per game this season. He has tallied 15 games with double-digit points, has led Carolina in rebounds three times, assists four times and steals four times. He has 788 career points in the Garnet and Black.
– 26.5 – In two career games vs. Arkansas, Devan Downey averages 26.5 points per game vs. the Razorbacks. He tallied 28 points in his lone appearance at Bud Walton Arena, and followed with 25 points to lead Carolina past the Razorbacks in overtime last season in Columbia. The 26.5 points per game are Downey’s highest among SEC opponents.
– 1 – South Carolina’s one block vs. Georgia on Saturday was a season low. It marked just the second game this season that junior forward Sam Muldrow has failed to register at least one block.

Arkansas Series Information
– Arkansas leads the all-time series 12-9, including a 6-3 advantage in games played in Fayetteville.
– South Carolina has won two straight in the series, and three of the last five meetings. Carolina won the last meeting at Bud Walton Arena 70-66 behind Downey’s 28 points and six steals.
– Downey proved the hero in South Carolina’s overtime win over the Razorbacks in Columbia last season. He led four Gamecocks in double figures with 25 points, including four free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the Gamecock win.

Georgia Contest Notables
– Devan Downey and Brandis Raley-Ross both attempted 13 3s in the contest, marking the first time South Carolina had two players attempt double-figure 3s in a game since Downey and Zam Fredrick attempted 10 each at Vanderbilt (2/28/09) last season.
– South Carolina’s six free throw attempts matched a season low. The Gamecocks also attempted just six free throws in a 74-56 win over Western Kentucky on Dec. 2.
– Carolina’s six free throws were the lowest in an SEC contest since attempting just three from the charity stripe at Georgia on Feb. 13, 2008.
– Lakeem Jackson registered his fifth double-figure scoring game of the season and his first since posting 11 vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 16.