Nov. 22, 2010

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (2-1) will host USC Upstate (0-5) in non-conference action at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday evening. The contest will be streamed live on FoxSportsCarolinas.com at 7 p.m. and shown as a tape delayed broadcast on Fox Sports Carolinas at 9 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tipoff: 7:04 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: South Carolina leads 1-0
Television: FSCR (Fox Sports Carolinas)
live stream at 7 p.m. on FoxSportsCarolinas.com/tape delay broadcast at 9 p.m.
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Eddie Fogler (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Derek Scott (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office (1-800-4SC-FANS)

Game Notes vs. USC Upstate

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are led by third-year head coach Darrin Horn.
– Horn has led South Carolina to a 29-8 (.783) home record during his two-plus seasons in Columbia.
– Freshman guard Brian Richardson has scored in double figures in all three of South Carolina’s contests this season, including back-to-back 11-point performances at Michigan State and vs. Radford. He averages 10.7 points per game and is shooting 50% from the field (10-20) and from 3-point range (8-16).
– South Carolina’s 29-point win over Radford was the largest margin of victory for the Gamecocks since defeating Longwood by 30 points on Jan. 5, 2010.
– Over the course of the last two games, South Carolina has attempted 62 3s. The Gamecocks currently lead the SEC with 26.0 3-point attempts per game.
– South Carolina’s 84.0 points per game currently leads the SEC.
– Carolina’s +9.0 rebounding margin ranks third in the SEC. The Gamecocks finished last in the SEC in the category during the 2009-10 season.
– Sophomore guard Stephen Spinella ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 71.4% (5-7) of his attempts.
– South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn is within one win of his 150th career victory as a head coach.
– The Gamecocks out-rebounded No. 2/2 Michigan State on Nov. 16, 44-41. MSU led the nation in rebounding margin last season.
– South Carolina is 75-28 (.728) all-time in the month of November. Carolina went 5-1 last season during the month.
– The 2009-10 Gamecocks concluded their 19th season of competition in the SEC with a 6-10 record. South Carolina owns an overall record of 122-182 (.401) all-time in SEC play.
– South Carolina owns a 26-6 (.812) all-time record against current schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Gamecocks most recently defeated an A-Sun opponent in Jacksonville, 97-93 last season, while the last Gamecock loss to an Atlantic Sun foe came in a 73-72 overtime loss to Campbell on Jan. 12, 1994.

Scouting USC Upstate
– USC Upstate is led by head coach Eddie Payne. Payne is a former South Carolina assistant, having served under former Gamecock head coach George Felton from 1986-1991. Carolina advanced to the 1989 NCAA East Regional and the 1991 NIT, while he also coached six All-Metro selections during his time in Columbia.
– Upstate most recently competed at the Charleston Classic, dropping contests to Wofford, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina.
– Freshman forward Torrey Craig paces the squad with 11.6 points per game. He scored 19 points and collected eight rebounds in USC Upstate’s most recent game vs. East Carolina.

By The Numbers
– 4 – South Carolina sophomore forward Lakeem Jackson was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe vs. Radford.
– 23.5 – In the per-40 minute report generated by the college basketball scoring system, freshman forward RJ Slawson averages 23.5 points.
– 51 – South Carolina’s 51 rebounds vs. Radford were the most for Carolina since the Gamecocks collected 52 vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 25, 2008 – a span of 60 games.
– 3 – Senior forward Sam Muldrow blocked a season-best three shots vs. Radford. Muldrow needs just 74 blocks to be the all-time leader in South Carolina history in the category.
– 10 – In just his second college game, freshman forward Damontre Harris collected a team-best 10 rebounds vs. Radford.

Spinella On Hot Streak
– After earning his first-career double-figure scoring mark with 10 points at No. 2/2 Michigan State, sophomore guard Stephen Spinella continued his hot streak on the offensive end of the court, besting that mark with a team-best 15 points vs. Radford. Spinella was 6-of-7 from the field vs. the Highlanders, including a 3-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. Spinella ranks fifth in the SEC in field goal percentage, hitting 62.5% of his shot attempts thus far in 2010. Prior to the MSU contest, Spinella’s previous highwater mark was seven points in a South Carolina win over Auburn last season.

Balance The Minutes
– South Carolina currently has seven players who are averaging at least 18 minutes per game. Bruce Ellington (28.0 mpg), Malik Cooke (25.7), Lakeem Jackson (24.7), Brian Richardson (21.7), Sam Muldrow (20.3), Stephen Spinella (19.3) and Ramon Galloway (18.3) have all played significant minutes for the Gamecocks through their first three games of the 2010 campaign.

Balanced Attack
– Each of South Carolina’s 11 players who saw action vs. Radford scored at least four points and collected at least two rebounds. More the story was the balance in minutes, as all 11 players played at least 13 minutes, with just one player over the 20-minute mark (Ellington played 23 minutes).