March 2, 2012

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (10-19, 2-13 SEC) travels to Georgia (13-16, 4-11 SEC) on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both schools. Game time is set for 1:47 p.m. ET, with the contest to be televised on the SEC Network.

OPENING TIP
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Tipoff: 1:47 p.m. ET
Location: Athens, Ga.
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Series: Georgia leads 50-47
Television: SEC Network (check local listings)
Talent: Clay Matvick (pxp), Kara Lawson (analyst)
Radio: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Gamecock Radio Network

Game Notes | Gamecock Sports Network Radio Affiliates | SEC Network Affiliates

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 104th season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are in their 21st season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Carolina owns a 129-206 all-time record in SEC play.
– South Carolina concludes the regular season at Georgia on Saturday in an afternoon contest at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. The game will be televised on the SEC Network at 1:47 p.m. ET.
– South Carolina won the first meeting of the season vs. Georgia 57-56. Senior forward Malik Cooke hit the winning jumper with 20 seconds left on the clock for the Carolina win.
– South Carolina suffered a 69-67 overtime loss to visiting Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Bulldogs’ Brian Bryant hit a last second layup in OT on an inbounds pass from Dee Bost for the win.
– Sophomore forward Damontre Harris collected his second-career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. MSU. Harris was 7-of-8 from the field, with two blocks and two steals. In league play, he averages 8.1 points and a team high 5.9 rebounds per game.
– Over the course of the last three games, sophomore guard Bruce Ellington is averaging 17.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He has led the Gamecocks in scoring in each of the last three games, including Wednesday’s game vs. Mississippi State with 17.
– Sophomore guard Brenton Williams has hit 44.8 percent of his shot attempts over the course of the last five games, averaging 7.0 points per game off the bench. Williams has been stellar from 3-point range during the stretch, hitting 50 percent (7-14) of his attempts.
– In strictly SEC games, South Carolina ranks third in the SEC in steals (7.0) and tied for fourth in the league in blocks (4.3) per game.
– The Gamecocks had one of the toughest starts to SEC play this season, as the squad played Kentucky (currently 1st in the SEC) and Florida (third in the SEC) twice, and Vanderbilt (second in the SEC) once, in the first eight games of the league season.
– In the SEC statistical standings for overall games South Carolina ranks fourth in steals per game (7.0), fourth in turnover margin (+1.7) and is third in the SEC in offensive rebounding (12.7).
– Senior forward Malik Cooke ranks fifth in the SEC (all games) with 1.7 steals per game.
– South Carolina ranks fourth in the SEC and is among the nation’s top 30 with 4.9 blocks per game. Sophomore forward Damontre Harris ranks 30th nationally with 2.3 blocks per game, which is tied for second in the SEC.
– In games it has won in 2011-12, South Carolina holds a +10.8 scoring margin over its opponents. To compare, in games it has lost, Gamecock opponents score 10.6 more points per game.
– South Carolina is 94-114 all-time in the month of March.
– South Carolina has scored more points in the paint than its opponent 13 times, and has scored more points off turnovers 16 times this season. The Gamecocks average 25.6 points in the paint and average 14.8 points off turnovers per contest.
– When South Carolina played No. 1 Kentucky on Feb. 4, it marked the fourth top-two opponent the Gamecocks faced this season, as the squad had previously played then-No. 1 North Carolina, then-No. 2 Ohio State and the Wildcats when they were ranked No. 2 in early January. Those three teams have an average RPI of 5.3, with Kentucky the highest at 4 (as of Feb. 20 RPI report).

By The Numbers
14 and 11 – Sophomore forward Damontre Harris collected his second double-double of the season vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday. His 14 points vs. the Bulldogs were one point shy of matching a season and career high in points, while his 11 rebounds set a new career high. Harris also posted two blocks in the contest to lead Carolina. In SEC play, Harris contributes 8.1 points, and team highs with 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
10 – South Carolina’s 10 made 3-point field goals vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday marked an SEC season high.
2-of-2 – Freshman forward Anthony Gill tallied eight points vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday. Gill hit two free throws with 24 seconds on the clock in regulation, and had a tip-in during OT. He also collected eight rebounds in the contest.
7 – Sophomore forward Damontre Harris had a monster night on the boards vs. MSU, collecting a career high 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. The seven offensive rebounds matched a season high for an individual player. Harris also collected seven offensive rebounds vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 10 – the game in which he collected the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Scouting Georgia
The Bulldogs have a short turnaround prior to Saturday’s game, as UGA played in Lexington vs. No. 1 Kentucky in a 9 p.m. ET contest on Thursday … The top-ranked Wildcats defeated the Bulldogs 79-49 in the game … In the four games since South Carolina and Georgia met for the first time this season, UGA has gone 1-3 with their lone win a home victory over nationally ranked Florida last week … Senior guard Gerald Robinson paces the Bulldogs with 14.0 points per game in overall games, and also leads the team with 14.1 points per game in league play … Freshman guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is second on the team with 13.8 points per outing … The Bulldogs are 10-6 in home games this season.

Up Next
South Carolina will travel to New Orleans for the 2012 SEC Tournament next week where the Gamecocks will play in the second game of the first session next Thursday as the No. 12 seed. Carolina’s opponent is still TBD.