Feb. 27, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina hosts Missouri for the first time on Thursday when the Tigers visit Colonial Life Arena for the second meeting between the two schools in 2013. Then-No. 22 Missouri earned a 71-65 victory against the Gamecocks at Mizzou Arena on Jan. 22 despite a 35-27 halftime lead for Carolina. The contest will be televised on ESPN2 with Rece Davis (play-by-play) and Bob Knight (analyst) on the call. 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: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013
Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Mizzou leads 1-0 (Thurs. marks 1st meeting in Columbia, S.C.)
Last Meeting: Missouri win, 71-65, on Jan. 22, 2013, in Columbia, Mo.
Television: ESPN2
Talent: Rece Davis (pxp), Bob Knight (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock IMG Radio Network
Sirius: 93; XM: 190
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Tickets | @GamecockMBB | | ESPN3 | GameNotes

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 132-218 (.377) all-time record in SEC play.
– South Carolina looks to rebound after a 62-54 overtime loss on the road at Georgia last Saturday. Down early, the Gamecocks battled back in the second half to force the OT session, but UGA out-scored Carolina 9-1 in extra time to close the win. The Bulldogs took 46 free throws in the contest, compared to 24 for the Gamecocks. Junior guard Bruce Ellington led Carolina with 11 points, while freshman forward Laimonas Chatkevicius pulled down a season high 10 rebounds.
– Over the course of the last three games, Chatkevicius is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game.
– South Carolina snapped a six-game losing streak last Wednesday with a thrilling 63-62 victory over visiting Ole Miss at Colonial Life Arena. Junior guard Eric Smith netted the game-winner, a 3-point basket with 27 seconds remaining. Senior forward Lakeem Jackson and Chatkevicius blocked shots with two seconds, and just nano seconds, respectively, on the clock to secure the Gamecock win.
– The Gamecocks held SEC scoring leader, UM’s Marshall Henderson to just 11 points on Feb. 20, eight of which came in the opening half. Henderson entered the game averaging 19.7 points per game, including a mark of 21.3 per league game.
– Freshman forward Michael Carrera put together his fifth double-double of the season with team highs of 13 points and 13 rebounds vs. Ole Miss. Carrera has 11 double-figure scoring contests and five double-figure rebounding games this season.
– 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.
– Carrera has led Carolina in scoring in five of the last eight games and in rebounding in six of the last eight. Over the stretch, he is averaging 11.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
– South Carolina shot 50 percent (13-26) from the floor in the second half of the Feb. 16th 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.
– 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 earned the first SEC win for head coach Frank Martin at LSU on Jan. 16 in an 82-73 overtime decision. Carolina was once again stellar in overtime, hitting 9-of-10 attempts in the extra session from the free throw line. Carrera posted 23 points in 24 minutes off the bench to pace the Gamecocks in the contest.
– Carrera (23 points, 10 rebounds) and senior forward Lakeem Jackson (11 points, 11 rebounds) both collected double-doubles in the contest at LSU, marking the first time that two Gamecocks have had a double-double in the same game since the 2008 campaign.
– Carrera’s 23 points scored vs. LSU were the most by a Gamecock this season, and the most by a Gamecock freshman since then-freshman Bruce Ellington also posted 23 at Florida on Jan. 15, 2011.
– Senior guard LaShay Page, a post-graduate student from Dillon, S.C., will not compete with the South Carolina men’s basketball team for the remainder of the 2012-13 season due to an academic eligibility issue.

Scouting Missouri
Missouri enters Thursday’s contest with a 19-8 overall record including an 8-6 mark in league games. Six different Tigers average double-digit points in overall games this season, led by Laurence Bowers and Jabari Brown with 14.1 per game. In league play, Brown paces the squad with 14.7 points per outing. Point guard Phil Pressey dishes an SEC high 7.0 assists per game (overall games), which ranks ninth nationally and his numbers hold steady at 6.9 assists per SEC contest. The Tigers have struggled on the road this season, winning just one of eight contests, which includes a 1-6 mark in SEC road contests. Most recently the Tigers suffered a 90-83 overtime loss at Kentucky. Missouri had a pair of double-doubles in its contest at UK, getting 27 points, 10 assists and four steals from Phil Pressey and 16 points and 15 rebounds from Alex Oriakhi. Pressey now has four point-assist double-doubles this season. The Tigers are led by head coach Frank Haith in his second season.

By The Numbers
4 – South Carolina has played four overtime games this season, owning a 3-1 record in those contests. It marks the most OT games in a season for Carolina since also playing four during the 2005-06 campaign.
46 – Georgia attempted 46 free throws against South Carolina last Saturday, marking the most free throw attempts ever by a Gamecock opponent in regular-season SEC play. Georgia also held the previous high mark of 41, which was set on March 7, 1992, Carolina’s first year competing in the league.
46 – Those 46 free throw attempts marked the second-most ever by a Gamecock opponent. The record is 48 attempts from Wake Forest on Feb. 4, 1966.
31.3% – Georgia shot just 31.3 percent (15-48) against the Gamecocks on Saturday, the lowest field goal percentage by a South Carolina opponent this season.

Up Next For The Gamecocks
South Carolina has a quick turnaround when it travels to Texas A&M on Saturday for a 7 p.m. ET contest set to be televised on ESPNU. The meeting marks the first all-time between the two schools.