Feb. 16, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina travels to Georgia on Tuesday for the second 2015 meeting between the two schools. It is the Gamecocks’ fourth away game in their first five contests to start the month of February. The Gamecocks posted a 67-50 win in the first meeting between the two schools this season in Columbia, paced by four Carolina players in double figures. Tuesday’s matchup will be broadcast on SEC Network with Dari Nowkhah (pxp) and Joe Dean Jr. (analyst) on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Game Date: Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Broadcast: SEC Network/ESPN3/WatchESPN
Talent: Dari Nowkhah (pxp), Joe Dean Jr. (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Sirius: N/A; XM: N/A
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Tickets: georgiadogs.com
Series: Georgia leads 54-49
Last Meeting: 67-50 Carolina win, Jan. 31, 2015, in Columbia, S.C.

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GAME STORYLINES
– South Carolina is in its 107th season of varsity basketball in 2014-15.
– The Gamecocks are led by third-year head coach Frank Martin. His associate head coach is Matt Figger, his assistant coaches are Perry Clark and Lamont Evans, and his director of operations is Andy Assaley.
– The Gamecocks suffered a 77-43 loss at Rupp Arena to top-ranked Kentucky on Saturday. Sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell posted a game high 20 points, but the Gamecocks shot just 23.6% (13-55) from the field in the contest.
– Thornwell has led the Gamecocks in scoring in each of the last four games, averaging 15.5 points per game during the stretch.
– South Carolina looks for its first win at Stegeman Coliseum since the 2009 SEC campaign on Tuesday.
– Sophomore guard Justin McKie returned to the lineup for Carolina at Kentucky after missing the previous five games due to a concussion.
– Rookie point guard Marcus Stroman missed his second-straight contest vs. UK due to a throat infection.
– In the first 2015 matchup vs. Georgia, junior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius led four Gamecocks in double figures with 12 points. He also blocked three shots.
– South Carolina posted a 65-60 victory over visiting Missouri on Feb. 10 at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks scored 28 points in the paint and 16 points off of 15 Tiger turnovers in the win. Thornwell and senior guard Tyrone Johnson each dished six assists for Carolina. Thornwell posted a team high 14 points in the win.
– An 18-0 run in the second half allowed Vanderbilt to post a 65-50 home win at Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 7 over the visiting Gamecocks. Thornwell led Carolina with 12 points, and Notice added 10. The Commodores out-rebounded the Gamecocks 33-20, holding Carolina to a season low four offensive boards.
– The Gamecocks are in their 24th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2015. Carolina owns a 141-243 (.367) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 62-68 (.476) all-time record in conference games.
– South Carolina has victories this season over three teams in the top 35 of the RPI (Feb. 16) in Iowa State (13), Georgia (32) and Oklahoma State (25).

SCOUTING GEORGIA
The Bulldogs are 16-8 and 7-5 in SEC play. Including the Jan. 31 matchup vs. South Carolina, Georgia is 2-3 in its last five games, also falling at Kentucky and most recently at home vs. Auburn on Saturday. They posted wins over Tennessee and Texas A&M in the stretch. The Bulldogs were without team leader Marcus Thornton for two games due to a concussion, including the Jan. 31 matchup vs. the Gamecocks, but he returned and leads the squad with 12.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. All five of Georgia’s everyday starters average double figures, including junior guard Kenny Gaines (11.6 ppg), who posted a team high 18 points vs. Auburn on Saturday. Junior guard Charles Mann (11.3), senior forward Nemanja Djurisic (10.8) and sophomore guard J.J. Frazier (10.3) contribute double figures as well. Georgia holds the third-highest RPI of any SEC team at 32 (Feb. 16). The Bulldogs are led by head coach Mark Fox in his sixth season.

GEORGIA SERIES
Georgia leads the all-time series with South Carolina 54-49, and the Bulldogs own a 32-15 upperhand in games played in Athens. South Carolina snapped a five-game UGA win streak in the series with a 67-50 victory over the visiting Bulldogs on Jan. 31 at Colonial Life Arena.

BY THE #’S
20 – Sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell scored 20 points at Kentucky on Saturday, marking his ninth-career 20 point game, and his second this season.
13.9 – Over the course of the last seven games, Thornwell is averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
7.1 – Over the course of the last seven games, junior forward Michael Carrera is averaging a team high 7.1 rebounds per contest.
3.6 – Among freshmen in the SEC, Marcus Stroman ranks fourth in overall games with 3.6 assists per outing. In strictly league games, he ranks third with 2.7 per outing.
10-7 – The Gamecocks are 10-7 this season when out-rebounding their opponent. 4th – South Carolina ranks fourth in the SEC in average home attendance, as an average of 11,372 fans attend Carolina home games this season.
3rd – South Carolina ranks tied for third in scoring defense in the SEC (overall games), as opponents average just 61.9 points per game.
73.6% – The Gamecocks rank second in the SEC (overall games) in free throw percent, hitting 73.6 percent at the charity stripe this season.
85.1% – Senior guard Tyrone Johnson ranks third in the SEC (overall games) in free throw percent, as he has hit 63-of-74 attempts this season for a mark of 85.1%

UP NEXT
South Carolina returns to Colonial Life Arena on Saturday to host Texas A&M in a Noon ET start on the SEC Network. It will be just the fourth meeting all-time vs. the Aggies and the Gamecocks will look to even the series at two games each. The teams split the series in 2014, with each squad winning on its home court, including an 80-52 victory for the Gamecocks in Columbia.

LEGENDS WEEKEND
South Carolina head coach Frank Martin and his staff will host Legends Weekend this weekend, Feb. 20-21. The annual event begins on Friday, Feb. 20, with an evening reception and continues on Saturday morning, with a pre-game chalk talk at Colonial Life Arena before the Gamecocks host Texas A&M in a Noon ET contest. The legends will be honored at halftime, and the weekend will conclude with a post-game reception in the Frank McGuire Club at Colonial Life Arena. For more information on the 2015 Legends Weekend, please contact Blair Cauthen in the South Carolina Athletics Department at 803-777-9126, or by email at BlairC@sc.edu.