Feb. 18, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (13-11, 4-7 SEC) travels to face No. 22/22 Kentucky (18-7, 6-5 SEC) in SEC action on Saturday at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The contest will tip off at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network (check local listings) with Carter Blackburn and Mark Gottfried on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tipoff: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Arena: Rupp Arena
Series: Kentucky leads 43-10
Television: SEC Network (check local listings)
Talent: Carter Blackburn (pxp), Mark Gottfried (analyst);
Todd Kulis (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. Kentucky | SEC Network Affiliates | Find The Gamecocks On TV

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– South Carolina will play three of its last five regular-season contests on the road, beginning with Saturday’s matchup at Kentucky.
– Redshirt-junior forward Malik Cooke scored a career-best 22 points at Tennessee on Wednesday. It marked the first 20-point game of his career, as he eclipsed his previous career high of 17 points, which he had scored on two previous occassions.
– Carolina started three freshman vs. Tennessee on Wednesday in Ellington, Richardson and Harris.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow led the Gamecocks in the first meeting in 2011 vs. Kentucky with 23 points and 13 rebounds. It marked the fifth double-double of the season for Muldrow, while the 23 points matched his career high.
– Due to early foul trouble, freshman point guard Bruce Ellington only played 24 minutes vs. Kentucky on Jan. 22, scoring just eight points.
– Muldrow became the all-time leader in South Carolina history with his four blocks vs. Georgia on Feb. 9. Muldrow now has 257 career blocks, which surpassed the previous high-water mark of 249 set by Brandon Wallace during the 2006-07 campaign.
– Ellington has seven 20-point games this season and one 30-point contest (at Furman). He ranks 15th in the SEC in scoring with 13.9 points per game.
– South Carolina ranks tied for first in the SEC with Tennessee in overall games with 14.4 offensive rebounds per game.
– South Carolina ranks second in the nation (Feb. 18 NCAA stats) and first in the SEC in blocked shots per game with 6.5 per outing. Muldrow ranks first in the SEC and fourth in the nation in blocks per game (3.5).
– The Gamecocks are 10-0 this season when leading at the halftime break.
– South Carolina is 2-5 against SEC East teams this season, with wins over Vandy and Florida.
– In league play, the combination of Ellington, Muldrow, Galloway and Cooke account for 47.0 points per game, 72.6% of South Carolina’s offensive production.
– In home games, South Carolina has held its opponent to under 41% shooting in nine of 15 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 is 428-431-1 (.498) all-time in the month of February.

Among Freshman In The SEC
– In overall games … Bruce Ellington ranks fourth in points per game (13.9), fourth in rebounding (3.5), third in assists (3.3) and fourth in steals (1.1) … Damontre Harris ranks second in field goal percentage (57.4%) and third in blocks per game (0.9).

Scouting Kentucky
– UK enters Saturday’s contest vs. South Carolina with a 6-5 mark in SEC action. The Wildcats have gone 4-3 in seven games since earning a 67-58 win over the Gamecocks on Jan. 22.
– Freshman forward Terrence Jones ranks among league leaders in SEC play with 18.7 points per game, while freshman guard Brandon Knight adds 16.8 per outing. Jones’ 8.8 rebounds per game in league play rank second in the SEC to Florida’s Chandler Parsons, who collects 8.9 per game.
– Knight and classmate Doron Lamb combined for 44 points in a win over Mississippi State on Tuesday. Jones added 17 points and a game-best 10 rebounds.

Kentucky Series Information
– Kentucky holds a 43-10 advantage in the all-time series against South Carolina, including a 22-2 upperhand in games played in Columbia.
– South Carolina swept the season series vs. UK for just the second time (1997) in 2009 under first-year head coach – and Lexington, Ky., native – Darrin Horn.
– South Carolina has won three of the last five meetings between the two schools. Both team won on its respective home court in the series last season.

By The Numbers
– 8 – Freshman forward RJ Slawson played a career high 26 minutes vs. Tennessee on Wednesday. Slawson pulled down a season-best eight rebounds in the contest, which matched Malik Cooke for a Gamecock high.
– 73 – South Carolina’s 73 shot attempts vs. Tennessee on Wednesday were the most since attempting 75 vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 8 in the SEC opener.
– 20 – South Carolina collected 20 points off of 16 Volunteer tournovers on Wednesday, the most points off TO’s in an SEC contest this season. In SEC play, South Carolina averages 12.0 points per game off of turnovers.
– 6 – Sam Muldrow blocked six shots vs. UT on Wednesday. It was the most blocks in a game for the South Carolina all-time record holder since he blocked six vs. Arkansas on Jan. 19. It was the 10th time this season that he has blocked at least four shots in a contest.
– 35 – UT’s 35 free throw attempts on Wednesday were the most by a Gamecock opponent this season.