Feb. 11, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (13-9, 4-5 SEC) will host Georgia (16-7, 5-4 SEC) on Saturday in an afternoon matinee at 4 p.m. The contest will be televised on the SEC Network with Dave Baker and Kyle Macy on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tipoff: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Series is tied at 47-47
Television: SEC Network (check local listings)
Talent: Dave Baker (pxp), Kyle Macy (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
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office (1-800-4SC-FANS)

Game Notes vs. Georgia | SEC Network Affiliates | Find The Gamecocks On TV

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– Following Saturday’s game vs. Georgia, South Carolina will play four of its last six regular-season contests on the road, beginning with a matchup at Tennessee on Feb. 16.
– South Carolina suffered a 79-60 loss to No. 17/19 Florida on Wednesday. Freshman guard Bruce Ellington led the Gamecocks with 14 points, while senior forward Sam Muldrow and freshman guard Brian Richardson each scored 10.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow is just three blocks away from surpassing Brandon Wallace (249) for first place in South Carolina history in career blocks, as Muldrow has 247 for his career entering Saturday’s game vs. Georgia.
– Ellington has seven 20-point games this season and one 30-point contest (at Furman). He ranks 13th in the SEC in scoring with 14.4 points per game.
– South Carolina ranks second in the SEC in overall games with 14.3 offensive rebounds per game.
– Carolina averages 71.5 points per game in home contests this season, hitting 42.8% of its shots.
– South Carolina is 9-5 this season when Sam Muldrow hits double-digit points.
– South Carolina ranks fourth in the nation (Feb. 11 NCAA stats) in blocked shots per game with 6.5 per outing. Muldrow ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per game (3.4).
– The Gamecocks are 10-0 this season when leading at the halftime break.
– South Carolina is 2-3 against SEC East teams this season, with wins over Vandy and Florida.
– In league play, the combination of Ellington, Muldrow and Galloway account for 39.2 points per game, 60% of South Carolina’s offensive production.
– In home games, South Carolina has held its opponent to under 41% shooting in nine of 14 contests.
– 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 17 contests this season (through 22 games), compared to 18 times all of last season.
– South Carolina is 428-429-1 (.499) all-time in the month of February.

Star Watch – Muldrow Aims For Block Record
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow is just three blocks away from surpassing Brandon Wallace (249) for first place in Gamecock history in career blocks, as Muldrow has 247 for his career. He ranks second in the South Carolina record book with 2.4 blocks per game. Muldrow is the SEC’s active career leader in blocked shots.

Among Freshman In The SEC
– In overall games … Bruce Ellington ranks fourth in points per game (14.4), fourth in rebounding (3.5), third in assists (3.4) and third in steals (1.1) … Damontre Harris ranks second in field goal percentage (60.0%) and third in blocks per game (0.9).

Scouting Georgia
– The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game with a 16-7 overall record, including a 5-4 mark in league play. UGA hosted Xavier in non-conference action on Tuesday evening. Xavier won that contest 65-57.
– Beginning with a Nov. 28 matchup vs. Manhattan, Georgia won nine straight games, including its SEC opener vs. Kentucky.
– Junior forward Trey Thompkins paces the Bulldogs in several categories, including scoring (16.6 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg). Junior forward Travis Leslie (14.2) and junior guard Gerald Robinson (13.2) also contribute double-digit scoring for the Bulldogs.

Georgia Series
– The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 47-47. Each team won on its respective homecourt during the 2010 series.
– South Carolina holds a 29-15 advantage in games played in Columbia.
– The Gamecocks have won four of the last six matchups between the two schools. Georgia defeated Carolina 66-61 last season in Athens to break a three-game South Carolina winning streak in the series.

By The Numbers
– 10 – Freshman guard Brian Richardson scored 10 points vs. Florida on Wednesday. It was the most points he had scored since also posting 10 vs. Florida on Jan. 15.
– 2 – South Carolina’s two blocked shots vs. Florida on Wednesday marked the second-fewest in a game for Carolina this season. The Gamecocks blocked just one shot in the contest vs. then-No. 2/2 Michigan State on Nov. 16.
– 6 – Six different Gamecocks scored at least six points vs. Florida – Ellington (14), Muldrow (10), Richardson (10), Galloway (9), Cooke (6) and Smith (6).
– 6.5 – South Carolina’s 6.5 blocked shots per game are nearly double what Gamecock opponents block per game at 3.3.
– 2 – Sam Muldrow blocked two shots vs. Florida on Wednesday, it marked the 64th time in his career and the 18th time this season that he has blocked at least two shots in a game.

Up Next For South Carolina
– South Carolina travels for two-straight contests, first at Tennessee (Feb. 16) before traveling to Kentucky (Feb. 19).