Jan. 18, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina travels to Ole Miss on Tuesday in the first of two away SEC contests for the Gamecocks this week. Carolina most recently got back on the winning track with an 81-72 home win vs. Missouri last Saturday.

GAME STORYLINES

– South Carolina is in its 108th season of varsity basketball in 2015-16.
– Carolina is led by fourth-year head coach Frank Martin. Alongside him are associate head coach Matt Figger, assistant coaches Perry Clark and Lamont Evans and director of men’s hoops operations, Andy Assaley.
– South Carolina is ranked No. 24 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll, while Carolina is No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been ranked for the past six weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and for five-straight weeks in the AP poll, reaching as high as 19th.
– The Gamecocks left the Alabama game behind them, and got back on the winning track with an 81-72 win versus visiting Missouri last Saturday. Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell matched his season high with 22 points in the win, also dishing a team high four assists to go along with a team best three steals. Missouri hit 49.1% (28-57) from the field in the contest, the second-highest mark by a Carolina opponent all season, but the Gamecocks had four reach double-figures in the win, and converted on 22-of-33 attempts at the foul line to clinch the victory.
– South Carolina is 26th in the most recent NCAA RPI (Jan. 18).
– Entering Tuesday’s contest versus the Rebels, Carolina has won just once in Oxford, an 80-77 win during the 2008 season.
– Rookie guard PJ Dozier hit double figures for the first time since the Clemson contest with 11 in Saturday’s victory versus Missouri. Dozier also matched teammate Laimonas Chatkevicius for a team high seven rebounds.
– Alabama jumped out to an early 10-2 advantage behind the hot shooting hand of sophomore Riley Norris, and the Gamecocks never recovered from the run, falling 73-50, in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, marking Carolina’s first loss of the season. Senior forward Michael Carrera was the lone Gamecock in double figures with 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his ninth-career double-double and third of the season.

GAMECOCKS IN THE POLLS

South Carolina is ranked No. 24 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll, while Carolina is No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been ranked for the past six weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and for five-straight weeks in the AP poll, reaching as high as 19th.

SCOUTING OLE MISS

The Rebels are 12-5 on the season, including a 2-3 mark in SEC games. Most recently Ole Miss dropped an 80-71 decision at home to Florida, which marked the team’s second loss in a row, having also lost in a road contest at LSU earlier in the week. Ole Miss is led by senior guard Stefan Moody, the SEC’s leading scorer in overall games at 24.5 per outing, while his 25.6 per league game also paces the conference. Junior forward Sebastian Saiz also provides double-figure points for the Rebels at 12.8 per game, while his 9.8 rebounds per outing pace the team and rank second in the league. The Rebels opened SEC play in the new Pavilion at Ole Miss with a pair of league wins over Alabama and Georgia. Ole Miss is led by head coach Andy Kennedy in his 10th season in Oxford.

UP NEXT

South Carolina travels to face Tennessee on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. The Gamecocks posted a victory in the final regular-season contest of the 2015 campaign in Knoxville, which marked Carolina’s first win at Thompson-Boling since the 2002 SEC campaign.

BY THE NUMBERS

16.3 – Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell ranks 12th in the SEC in strictly league games with a Gamecock high 16.3 points per game. Thornwell scored 22 at Auburn and at home versus Missouri for his season high.
19 – The Gamecocks rank 19th in the country in the most recent NCAA stats in field goal percentage defense, as opponents average just 38.6 percent from the floor in overall games this season.
+10 – Five Gamecocks average double-figures in overall games this season led by junior guard Sindarius Thornwell’s 12.5 per game.
65.3 – In three away games this season, the Gamecocks average 65.3 points per game.
72.5% – South Carolina averages 72.5 percent from the free throw line in the final five minutes of overall games this season.
122 – Senior forward Michael Carrera is 122 points away from reaching the 1,000-career point mark. Carrera has scored 198 points this season.
115 – Senior forward Mindaugas Kacinas is just six games away from cracking the top 10 in career games played in South Carolina history. Tony Kitchings (1999-2003), Barry Manning (1988-92) and Jamel Bradley (1999-2002) played in 121 games each during their careers.

SERIES VS. OLE MISS

Ole Miss leads the all-time series versus South Carolina 18-16, and the Rebels hold a 12-1 advantage in games played in Oxford. Carolina’s lone road win in the series came in a 80-77 win on Feb. 2, 2008.