March 5, 2010

The Gamecock men’s basketball team (14-15, 5-10 SEC) travels to face No. 13/19 Vanderbilt (23-6, 12-3 SEC) in the final regular season contest for both schools before the start of the 2010 SEC Tournament next week. The contest will tip at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 with Brad Nessler and Jamal Mashburn 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, March 6, 2010
Tipoff: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)
Series: Vanderbilt leads 23-22
Television: ESPN2
Talent: Brad Nessler (pxp), Jamal Mashburn (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.
– Saturday’s contest at Vanderbilt marks the regular-season finale for both teams.
– South Carolina looks to snap a six-game losing streak overall, and a six-game road losing streak at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
– The Gamecocks are 8-10 all-time in the final game of the SEC season, including a 1-1 mark against Vanderbilt. The teams last met in the final regular-season matchup in 2000, with South Carolina collecting a 77-72 road win in Nashville.
– South Carolina will enter next week’s SEC Tournament as either the fifth or sixth seed from the East.
– In Horn’s one-plus seasons at South Carolina, the Gamecocks are 12-11 in games following a loss.
– South Carolina ranks ninth in the nation in turnover margin (4.2 – March 1 NCAA stats).
– Devan Downey became the all-time leader in steals at South Carolina when he collected his third steal of the night vs. Alabama on Wednesday. Downey now has 273 career steals at South Carolina, one better than Chuck Eidson (272) who held the record since 2003.
– Downey has scored 20 or more points 17 times this season, and has tallied 30 or more six times, including in five SEC contests.
– Downey (22.5 ppg) leads the team and the SEC in scoring in overall games this season. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring 23 times, including 18 of the last 20 games. He ranks seventh in the nation in points per game (as of March 1 NCAA stats).
– Downey’s 2.8 steals per game lead the league and rank third in the nation.
– The backcourt duo of Downey and Raley-Ross average 37.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per contest in league play.
– Carolina’s 6.2 blocked shots per game rank third in the SEC in overall games, behind Mississippi State’s 7.8 and Kentucky’s 7.4, and 11th in the nation. Junior forward Sam Muldrow paces the Gamecocks with 3.1 blocks per game, second in the SEC and 12th in the nation.
– Sam Muldrow’s 90 blocks are the third-most in a single-season in Carolina history and the most since Brandon Wallace had 86 blocks during the 2006-07 campaign. Only Danny Traylor during the 1971-72 (122) and the 1972-23 (113) seasons had more in a single-season.
– South Carolina is 1-9 this season in away games, with its lone win coming in its SEC opener at Auburn on Jan. 9. Carolina averages 64.5 points per game on the road, with Devan Downey accounting for 38% (246/645) of those points (24.6 ppg).
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 42-44 (.488) all-time in away games. South Carolina is 6-15 (.286) in away games under Horn’s direction.
– The Gamecocks are 41-110 (.272) all-time in league road games.
– South Carolina holds a +14.3 scoring margin in games it has won this season.
– Carolina is 11-6 this season in games in which it scores at least 70 points.
– The Gamecocks are in their 19th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference. Carolina owns a 121-182 (.399) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 72-37 (.660) 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 93-110 (.458) in games played in the month of March. In those games, Carolina is 11-18 (.379) in SEC regular season games, 16-18 (.470) in SEC Tournament games, 4-9 in the NCAA Tournament and 21-9 in the NIT.
– South Carolina finished its regular season with an 11-5 mark in games played at Colonial Life Arena this season, scoring 76.6 points per game in those contests. Downey paced Carolina with 22.4 points in home games.
– The Gamecocks were 4-3 in conference home games this season with wins over LSU, then-No. 1 Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.

By The Numbers
– 6 – South Carolina honored six seniors – five players, one manager – prior to its contest vs. Alabama on Wednesday.
– 21 – Ramon Galloway posted his first-career 20-point effort with a career-high 21 points vs. Alabama on Wednesday. Galloway hit the mark on a stellar 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He now has 11 double-figure point games this season – the most by a freshman since Mike Holmes collected 13 double-figure efforts during the 2007-08 campaign.
– 2 – Senior guard Robert Wilder tallied two points vs. Alabama, hitting a turnaround jump shot just over three minutes into the contest. It marked Wilder’s first points since the Chapin, S.C., native tallied two points vs. Furman (12/21).
– 12 – Carolina’s 12 assists vs. Alabama marked its highest total in the category since dishing 14 at Arkansas. Devan Downey and Lakeem Jackson each tallied five assists vs. the Crimson Tide on Wednesday. It was the 12th time this season Downey has dished at least five assists and the second time for Jackson.
– 11 – Carolina’s 11 steals vs. Alabama were the most for the Gamecocks since collecting an SEC-season best 15 vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 16.
– 21.8 – In five career games vs. Vanderbilt Devan Downey averages 21.8 points per game. He tallied a floor-best 35 vs. the Commodores in the first matchup between the two schools this season in January.

Freshmen Making A Mark
– This season’s freshman class of Lakeem Jackson, Ramon Galloway and Stephen Spinella have made an immediate impact for the Gamecocks this season. Below are some key points on the freshman class thus far.
– Jackson has started every game this season except Senior Night … For the season, he averages 7.1 points per game and is second on the team with 4.6 rebounds per outing … 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in SEC play … Has posted double-figure points eight times this season, including hitting the mark in four of the last six games … Averages 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game over the last six games … Has led the team in rebounding seven times, assists seven times and steals seven times … Plays an average of 26.2 minutes per game overall and 28.1 minutes per game in league play.

– Galloway has played in every game this season with six starts on the year … Contributes 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game … 6.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in SEC play … Has tallied 11 double-figure scoring games, most recently collecting a career-high 21 points vs. Alabama on Wednesday … The first 20-point game by a freshman since Dominique Archie tallied 21 points vs. Vanderbilt on Feb. 26, 2007.

– Spinella has been a key role player for South Carolina … Provides 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game in overall games … Top game of the season came in 80-71 victory on the road at Auburn, posting seven points in 13 minutes … Was key in 78-77 Carolina win over Georgia on Jan. 30, posting six points, including back-to-back 3s to pull Carolina within two points of Georgia at the half … One of the top defenders on the team.

Vanderbilt Series Information
– With its victory over the Gamecocks in January, Vanderbilt took a slight 23-22 upperhand in the all-time series between the two schools.
– The Commodores hold a 12-9 advantage in games played in Nashville.
– Vandy has won two-straight in the series and eight of the last 10 between the two schools.