Jan. 14, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (10-5, 1-1 SEC) travels to face Florida (13-3, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday in a 1:30 p.m. contest at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville. The contest will be televised on the SEC Network with Clay Matvick and Joe Dean Jr. on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tipoff: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Arena: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (12,000)
Series: Florida leads 36-21
Television: SEC Network (Check local listings)
Talent: Clay Matvick (pxp), Joe Dean Jr. (analyst);
Tom Scofield (producer)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com

Game Notes vs. Florida | SEC Network Affiliates

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are in their 20th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2011. Carolina owns a 123-183 (.401) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 74-38 (.660) all-time in league play, including a 17-17 (.500) mark in SEC action.
– The contest at Florida marks the second straight on the road for the Gamecocks. South Carolina suffered a 57-47 loss at Alabama on Wednesday.
– Junior forward Malik Cooke paced the Gamecocks vs. Alabama, scoring 11 points and collecting three steals. It marked the sixth time this season Cooke has swiped at least two steals in a contest.
– Freshman guard Eric Smith had his best contest to date, scoring a season high seven points, while dishing a team-best three assists vs. Alabama.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow recorded just the second triple-double in school history in the SEC opener win over No. 22/24 Vanderbilt, scoring 16 points, collecting a team-high 14 rebounds and blocking a career high 10 shots. It marked just the 21st triple-double in SEC history and the 11th all-time involving blocked shots.
– South Carolina has dished double-digit assists in 13 contests this season (through 15 games), compared to 18 times all of last season.
– Carolina (40.3) leads the SEC and is one of two teams in the league to average at least 40 rebounds per game. Kentucky (40.2) is the other.
– South Carolina ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (.362).
– Carolina’s 6.7 blocked shots per game rank third in the SEC and sixth in the nation (Jan. 10 NCAA stats), with Muldrow (3.3) tied for second in the league and 11th in the nation.
– South Carolina’s 14.4 offensive rebounds per game lead the SEC.

Scouting Florida
– Florida enters Saturday’s contest having won eight of its last nine games. Its lone loss in the stretch came in a 71-68 overtime loss to Jacksonville on Dec. 20.
– UF is led by four players averaging double-digit points, with junior guard Erving Walker’s 14.4 per game leading the bunch. Senior forward Chandler Parsons adds 10.8 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game.
– The Gators lead the SEC in rebounding margin (+7.3), are second in scoring defense (61.2) and field goal percentage (.470).

Florida Series Information
– Florida leads the all-time series between the two schools 36-21, including a 17-6 advantage in games played in Gainesville.
– The last four contests between the two schools have been decided by a combined 13 points.
– Since Darrin Horn became the head coach at South Carolina, the contests between the Gamecocks and Gators have been thrillers. Below is a quick breakdown of those four contets:
– Jan. 21, 2009 – Then-senior Zam Frederick hit a lay-up with nano seconds on the clock to clinch a 70-69 win for the Gamecocks in Columbia.
– Feb. 3, 2009 – Just two weeks after Frederick’s heroics, Florida earned a 97-93 win in a shootout in Gainesville. Then-junior Devan Downey drilled three 3’s in the final 57 seconds of the game and added a layup for a total of 11 points in the final minute of play, but solid free throw shooting by the Gators down the stretch secured the UF win.
– Jan. 23, 2010 – Downey hit a lay-up to put the Gamecocks ahead 56-55 with just 5.1 seconds remaining on the clock, but UF’s Chandler Parsons hit a 3 at the buzzer for the UF win.
– Feb. 10, 2010 – South Carolina avenged its loss in Gainesville with a 77-71 victory in Columbia. Downey led three in double figures with 24 points, while senior Brandis Raley-Ross added a season-best 20 points in the win.

By The Numbers
– 4 – Senior forward Sam Muldrow needs just four blocks to match Jeff Roulston for fourth all time in South Carolina history in career blocks with 226.
– 0 – South Carolina held Alabama to zero made 3’s in the Jan. 12 matchup between the two schools. It marked the first time a team has failed to hit a 3 since Alabama was 0-10 from beyond the arc in a contest on Feb. 13, 2002.
– 47 – South Carolina’s 47 points vs. Alabama marked the first contest that Carolina failed to reach 50 points since scoring 49 on the road at Florida on Feb. 21, 2007.
– 14/13 – Versus Vandy, Muldrow collected 14 rebounds and junior forward Malik Cooke grabbed a career high 13, marking the first time this season, and the first time since Nov. 16, 2008 vs. Winthrop (Archie 10, Holmes, 13), that two Gamecocks collected double-figure rebounds in the same game.