Jan. 18, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (11-5, 2-1 SEC) returns to Colonial Life Arena for a three-game homestand, beginning the stretch hosting Arkansas (12-4, 2-1 SEC) on Wednesday. The contest will tip off at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on the SEC Network with Dave Neal and Mark Gottfried on the call.

Tickets still remain for the contest, please call 1-800-4SC-FANS, visit the Gamecock Ticket Office, or visit GamecocksOnline.com to buy tickets for the contest.

Wednesday’s halftime act will feature ACRODUNK, click HERE to visit the ACRODUNK website.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tipoff: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Arkansas leads 13-9
Television: SEC Network
Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Mark Gottfried (analyst);
Eric Swaringen (producer)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Multimedia: ESPN3.com
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office (1-800-4SC-FANS)

Game Notes vs. Arkansas | 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 124-183 (.403) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 75-38 (.663) all-time in league play, including an 18-17 (.514) mark in SEC action.
– South Carolina collected a 72-69 victory at Florida on Saturday. It marked the first win in Gainesville for the Gamecocks since Feb. 8, 2006 when Carolina earned a 71-67 victory at the O’Connell Center.
– Freshman point guard Bruce Ellington scored South Carolina’s final six points, including a perfect 4-of-4 effort from the free throw line over the last 17 seconds to secure the Gamecock win over the Gators. Ellington led the squad with 23 points, his sixth 20-point effort of the season.
– The Gamecocks committed just eight turnovers vs. Florida, including only three in the second half.
– Wednesday’s contest between South Carolina and Arkansas highlights two of the league’s top shot blockers in Carolina’s Sam Muldrow and Arkansas’ Delvon Johnson. The two have blocked a combined 112 shots this season, as Johnson paces the league with 59, with Muldrow blocking 53.
– Third-year head coach Darrin Horn owns an all-time record of 99-20 (.831) in home contests and has led South Carolina to a 36-9 (.800) home record during his two-plus seasons in Columbia.
– Darrin Horn led teams are 45-48 (.483) all-time in road contests. Horn has led Carolina to an 9-19 (.321) mark on the road in his two-plus seasons in Columbia.
– In home games, South Carolina has held its opponent to under 41% shooting in every contest thus far in 2010-11 except the Boston College matchup. The Eagles shot a stellar 51.6 % (33-64) to earn the road win on New Year’s Day.
– 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.
– Muldrow’s 10 blocks were the most by a single player this season in the SEC, eclipsing the previous high of eight blocks collected by Arkansas’ Delvon Johnson vs. Seton Hall.
– Junior forward Malik Cooke pulled down a career best 13 rebounds vs. Vandy, including five offensive boards.
– South Carolina has dished double-digit assists in 14 contests this season (through 16 games), compared to 18 times all of last season.
– Carolina (40.2) ranks second in the SEC and among national leaders in rebounds per game. Among league opponents, only Kentucky (40.8), Saturday’s opponent, collects more rebounds per contest.
– South Carolina ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (.360).
– Carolina’s 6.8 blocked shots per game rank third in the SEC and sixth in the nation (Jan. 10 NCAA stats), with Muldrow (3.3) second in the league and 11th in the nation.
– South Carolina’s 14.4 offensive rebounds per game rank second in the SEC, trailing only Tennessee (14.5).
– Ellington scored 31 points vs. Furman on Dec. 22. It marked the first Gamecock to hit the 30-point plateau since Devan Downey posted 33 in a 78-77 victory over Georgia on Jan. 30, 2010.
– The Gamecocks own a 400-339 (.541) all-time record in the month of January.

Scouting Arkansas
– Arkansas enters Wednesday’s matchup having won five of its last seven contests, including SEC victories over Tennessee and Alabama, and just one league loss, which came at LSU.
– Arkansas has played just two true road contests this season, falling at Texas and at LSU.
– The Razorbacks lead the SEC in steals (9.5) and blocked shots (6.9), while their +3.2 turnover margin is also an SEC best.
– Junior guard Rotnei Clarke paces the Razorbacks with 13.5 points per game, while senior forward Delvon Johnson leads the team with 7.9 rebounds and an SEC best 3.7 blocks per contest.

Arkansas Series Information
– Arkansas holds a 13-9 upperhand in the all-time series between the two schools, which began once both institutions joined the SEC in 1992. South Carolina has won seven of the last 11 meetings.
– Carolina holds a slight 5-4 advantage in home games over Arkansas. The Razorbacks have not won in Columbia since 2001.
– Arkansas collected a 92-79 win over the Gamecocks last season in Fayetteville. Devan Downey led Carolina with 28 points in that contest, while Sam Muldrow scored a career high 23 points, hitting 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc, while blocking two shots.

By The Numbers
– 6 – Sophomore guard Ramon Galloway dished a career high six assists vs. Florida. He doubled his previous career high of three assists, which he had reached on nine occasions, including four times this season.
– 25 – Senior forward Sam Muldrow has blocked 25 shots over the course of the last four games (SC State 6, Vanderbilt 10, Alabama 6, Florida 3) for a 6.25 blocks per game average over the stretch.
– 1 – Muldrow needs just one block to match Jeff Roulston (226) for fourth in South Carolina history in career blocks.
– 44.3% – After its worst shooting effort of the season at Alabama, South Carolina collected its best road shooting percentage of the year at Florida, hitting 44.3 (27-61) percent of its shots. The Gamecocks only hit 16 total shots vs. Alabama, but rebounded with 27 made shots vs. the Gators.
– 10 – After failing to score vs. Vandy and collecting only one point at Alabama, freshman shooting guard Brian Richardson scored 10 points, including the first Gamecock basket, at Florida on Saturday. Richardson was 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the contest. He is now shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range in away contests this season, compared to hitting 30 percent of his attempts at home.
– Last 5 – Over the course of the last five games (record of 3-2), South Carolina is averaging 72.6 points, 12.6 assists, 12.0 turnovers, 9.2 blocks and 6.2 steals per game.