Feb. 4, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (13-7, 4-3 SEC) travels to face No. 23/24 Vanderbilt (15-6, 3-4 SEC) at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Saturday. The contest is the second between the two SEC East rivals this season. South Carolina won the previous contest, 83-75, in overtime in Columbia on Jan. 8 in the SEC opener for both schools. Saturday’s contest will be televised by the SEC Network with Dave Baker and Will Perdue on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011
Tipoff: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)
Series: South Carolina leads 24-23
Television: SEC Network (check local listings)
Talent: Dave Baker (pxp), Will Perdue (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
Multimedia: ESPN3.com

Game Notes vs. Vanderbilt | 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 126-185 (.405) all-time record in SEC play.
– Darrin Horn-led teams are 77-40 (.658) all-time in league play, including a 20-19 (.512) mark in SEC action.
– South Carolina snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating LSU on Wednesday, 64-56. The Gamecocks have won six of their last 10 games entering Saturday’s contest at Vandy.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow is just seven blocks away from surpassing Brandon Wallace (249) for first place in South Carolina history in career blocks, as Muldrow has 243 for his career entering Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.
– Freshman point guard Bruce Ellington scored 20 points to lead South Carolina past LSU in a road win on Wednesday. Ellington has scored at least 20 points three times in SEC play and seven times this season.
– South Carolina ranks second in the nation (Feb. 4 NCAA stats) in blocked shots per game with 6.9 per outing. Muldrow ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per game (3.6).
– Since breaking into the starting lineup vs. Auburn, sophomore guard Ramon Galloway is averaging 14.5 points, and 4.5 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per outing. He scored a team high 20 points vs. Auburn, and contributed nine vs. LSU.
– South Carolina’s guard trio of Bruce Ellington, Ramon Galloway and Brian Richardson account for 32.3 points per game.
– The Gamecocks are 10-0 this season when leading at the halftime break. Carolina held a 31-27 upperhand at halftime vs. LSU.
– South Carolina trailed Vanderbilt 37-30 at halftime in the first meeting between the two schools in early January. South Carolina out-scored the Commodores 53-38 through the second half and overtime period to clinch the win.
– Third-year head coach Darrin Horn owns an all-time record of 100-22 (.819) in home contests and has led South Carolina to a 37-11 (.770) home record during his two-plus seasons in Columbia.
– Darrin Horn led teams are 46-48 (.489) all-time in road contests. Horn has led Carolina to a 10-19 (.344) mark on the road in his two-plus seasons in Columbia.
– South Carolina hits 44.5% of its shots and scores 74.8 points per game in games it has won this season, while in losses, the Gamecocks hit just 36.1% and score just 63.4 points per outing.
– In home games, South Carolina has held its opponent to under 41% shooting in nine of 13 contests.
– Carolina averages 67.9 points per game in seven road games this season.
– 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 15 contests this season (through 20 games), compared to 18 times all of last season.
– Carolina is tied with Kentucky for the SEC lead in rebounds per game with 39.5 per contest.
– South Carolina is 428-427-1 (.500) all-time in the month of February.

Among Freshman In The SEC
– In overall games … Bruce Ellington ranks fourth in points per game (14.5), fifth in rebounding (3.5), third in assists (3.5) and third in steals (1.2) … Damontre Harris ranks second in field goal percentage (59.2%) and third in blocks per game (1.0).

Scouting Vanderbilt
– Since playing at South Carolina on Jan. 8, Vanderbilt is 4-3 in seven games, including a 3-3 mark in SEC play.
– Vandy is led by sophomore guard John Jenkins with 19.3 points per game, which leads the SEC. In strictly league games, Jenkins averages an SEC best 21.9 points per game. (Jenkins scored 27 points vs. South Carolina on Jan. 8)
– Vandy ranks first in the SEC in scoring offense (77.9) and defensive rebounds per game (27.9), while ranking second in field goal percentage (45.8%) and free throw percent (74.6).

Vanderbilt Series Information
– South Carolina leads the all-time series between the two schools, 24-23. Vandy holds a 12-10 lead in the series in games played in Nashville.
– Behind four Gamecocks in double figures, led by Ellington with 22 and Muldrow’s triple-double, South Carolina earned an 83-75 win over Vandy in the SEC opener for both schools in early January.
– The 2010 series saw each team earn a hard-fought road win. Vandy collected an 89-79 victory in Columbia on Jan. 16, while the Gamecocks earned an upset win over the No. 13/19 Commodores on Senior Day at Memorial Gymnasium nearly two months later on March 6.
– South Carolina is 2-8 all-time vs. Vanderbilt when the Commodores are ranked.
– The Gamecocks have now won two-straight in the series, both of those wins over a ranked Vanderbilt squad.

By The Numbers
– 37 – In SEC play, Sam Muldrow has 37 blocks, which is more than seven other schools in the league (excluding South Carolina) – Auburn (22), LSU (24), Mississippi State (25), Vanderbilt (27), Florida (32), Tennessee (36) and Georgia (36).
– 8.3 – South Carolina leads the SEC in league games only with 8.3 blocks per game.
– 2.1+ – in SEC play, three Gamecocks – Ellington (2.7), Jackson (2.2) and Galloway (2.1) – average at least 2.1 assists per game.
– 82.4% – South Carolina’s 82.4% from the free throw line vs. LSU on Wednesday was its best percentage when attempting at least 15 free throws since connecting on 28-of-33 (84.8%) vs. The Citadel on Dec. 20, 2008. A span of 74 games.