Feb. 19, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina looks to snap a six-game losing streak against visiting Ole Miss on Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena. The contest, set for a 7 p.m. ET start on CSS with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and Kyle Macy (analyst) on the call, will also be picked up locally on Time Warner Cable digital channel 506. The meeting marks the 30th all-time between the two schools. Fans can also listen on the Gamecock IMG Sports Network via GamecocksOnline.com and on 107.5 The Game in Columbia with Andy Demetra (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst).

OPENING TIP
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013
Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Ole Miss leads 15-14 (SC leads 9-1 in Columbia)
Last Meeting: Ole Miss win, 66-62, on Jan. 28, 2012, in Oxford, Miss.
Television: CSS
Talent: Matt Stewart (pxp), Kyle Macy (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock IMG Radio Network
Sirius: 113; XM: 199
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Tickets | @GamecockMBB | | ESPN3 | Game Notes

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 105th season of basketball.
– The Gamecocks are led by first-year head coach Frank Martin. His associate head coach is Brad Underwood and his assistant coaches are Matt Figger and Lamont Evans. Andy Assaley is the director of basketball operations.
– The Gamecocks are in their 22nd season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2013. Carolina owns a 131-217 (.376) all-time record in SEC play.
– The Gamecocks look to break a six-game losing streak on Wednesday. Carolina’s last win came in a 75-54 decision vs. Arkansas on Jan. 26.
– South Carolina shot 50 percent (13-26) from the floor in the second half of Saturday’s contest at Alabama, but the Gamecocks were unable to overcome an early 23-point Alabama advantage, and suffered a 68-58 loss on the road in Tuscaloosa. Junior guard Brenton Williams led the Gamecocks with 14 points off the bench, while senior forward Lakeem Jackson pulled down a team high nine rebounds. It marked the seventh time this season that Williams has led, or shared the team lead, in scoring and the ninth time for Jackson in the rebounding column.
– Despite not scoring at Alabama, freshman forward Michael Carrera leads the Gamecocks over the course of the last five games with 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
– Wednesday’s meeting marks the first time that Frank Martin will meet Ole Miss’s Andy Kennedy on opposite benches as head coach of the Gamecocks. The two former Cincinnati assistants have met once previously, when Kennedy’s Ole Miss Rebels defeated Martin’s K-State Wildcats, 86-74 in late November 2009 at the Puerto Rico Tipoff.
– South Carolina shot a season high 57.7 percent (30-52) from the field, including a near season best of hitting 7-of-12 (58.3%) from beyond the arc, in a convicing 75-54 victory over Arkansas at Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 26. The win marked Carolina’s first in league play at home this season. The 21-point margin of victory marked the largest in conference play since an 18-point win over Kentucky on Feb. 25, 2009. It was the first margin of at least 20 points in SEC play since an 83-61 win over Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2006. Both of those wins occurred at Colonial Life Arena.
– After trailing 15-3, South Carolina ended the first half vs. Arkansas on a 40-11 run over the final 14:49 of the first half.
– Carolina’s 75 points vs. Arkansas were the most in a regulation SEC game since posting a 79-73 win vs. Ole Miss on Feb. 22, 2011.
– South Carolina held an eight-point halftime lead on the road at No. 22 Missouri on Jan. 22, but the Gamecocks were unable to hold the lead down the stretch and the Tigers responded with 44 points in the second half to claim a 71-65 win. Mizzou struggled mightly from the field in the opening half, hitting just 6-of-30 attempts, but 28 points from the free throw line in the contest kept the Tigers within striking distance throughout.

Scouting Ole Miss
The Rebels enter Wednesday’s contest having most recently earned an 84-74 overtime victory over Georgia last Saturday. Ole Miss holds a 19-6 record this season, including an 8-4 mark in league games. Junior guard Marshall Henderson paces the team and ranks first in the SEC and 18th in the nation with 19.7 points per game in overall games, including a mark of 21.3 per league outing. Henderson scored 25 points, including a perfect 14-of-14 effort from the free throw line, in the win over Georgia last weekend. Irmo, S.C., native, senior forward Murphy Holloway leads the squad with 9.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks second in the SEC and 33rd in the nation. Holloway has nine double-doubles this season and 34 for his career. Senior forward Reginald Buckner ranks second in the league with 2.7 blocks per game, while also providing 9.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per outing. Ole Miss’s 79.5 points per game in overall games this season leads the league and ranks an impressive fifth in the nation. The squad is led by Andy Kennedy in his seventh season.

Ole Miss Series
Ole Miss holds a slight 15-14 advantage in the all-time series with South Carolina, but the Gamecocks own a 9-1 upperhand in games played in Columbia. The Rebels have won two straight in the series, including a 66-62 win in Oxford last season, and the teams are even over the course of the last 10 meetings, each winning five.

By The Numbers
11 – Freshman forward Laimonas Chatkevicius posted a season high 11 points in Saturday’s contest at Alabama. The Klaipeda, Lithuania, native played a season high 25 minutes, hitting four attempts from the floor, while adding three from the free throw line. In league play, he has seven starts, and contributes 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.
45.1% – South Carolina’s 45.1 percent (23-51) from the floor at Alabama was its highest percentage since a mark of 57.7 percent in the win vs. Arkansas on Jan. 26.
4 – Junior guard Brenton Williams collected a season high four steals at Alabama on Saturday. It was the most by a Gamecock in a contest this season, and the most since then-senior Malik Cooke posted four steals in a 62-43 win vs. SE Louisiana on Dec. 21, 2011.
6.9 – Among freshman in the SEC, Michael Carrera ranks second in rebounding with 6.9 per league game. He has led Carolina in the category in five SEC contests this season.

Up Next For The Gamecocks
South Carolina travels to Georgia on Saturday for a 2 p.m. ET matchup vs. the Bulldogs set to be televised on CBS. Georgia won the first matchup of 2013 between the two schools, 67-56 on Feb. 2 in Columbia.