Feb. 9, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina opens up a two-game homestand when it hosts LSU on Wednesday in the lone regular-season meeting between the two schools in 2016. The Tigers currently lead the SEC with an 8-2 record, but the Gamecocks are just one game behind with a 7-3 mark in conference games after their upset win at No. 8/8 Texas A&M last Saturday.

GAME BALL PRESENTATION

Prior to Wednesday’s matchup vs. LSU, head coach Frank Martin will present senior forward Michael Carrera with a game ball, commemorating his 1,000th career point, which he scored in last Saturday’s upset win at No. 8/8 Texas A&M. Carrera became the 43rd member of the Carolina 1,000 point club.

CHECK PRESENTATION

During the week of Oct. 4, the entire state of South Carolina saw unprecendented flooding. The University of South Carolina Athletics Department partnered with School Cuts, a locally owned screen printing and embroidery company, to create the “Together” T-Shirt, which was sold online and in local retail locations. At halftime of the contest vs. LSU, Gamecock athletics director Ray Tanner, along with School Cuts owner and founder Butch Chavis will present a $50,000 to be split among the Central Carolina Community Foundation, The American Red Cross of South Carolina and the United Way of the Midlands, to aid flood victims in the recovery of the natural disaster.

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 receiving votes in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll this week, while Carolina is No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 11 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and also for 11 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.
– The Gamecocks notched their first road win over a top-10 opponent in 10 years last Saturday, winning a thriller at Reed Arena vs. No. 8/8 Texas A&M, 81-78. Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell had his top game of the season, posting 25 points – just one shy of matching his career high – while also dishing an impressive nine assists to lead the Gamecocks in the win. Senior forward Michael Carrera continued his hot streak as well, scoring 20 points en route to the 1,000th of his career. Carrera also dished two assists in the win.
– South Carolina’s win at No. 8/8 Texas A&M marked its first road win over a top-10 opponent since defeating No. 6/7 Florida in Gainesville on Feb. 8, 2006.
– The win at A&M was the Gamecocks’ second top-10 win in the last two seasons, as the Gamecocks defeated then No. 9/9 Iowa State in a neutral site meeting in New York City on Jan. 3, 2015.
– After hitting a season low 31.6 percent from the floor in the loss at Georgia last Tuesday, the Gamecocks responded with their best shooting percentage of the conference campaign, hitting 52.6 percent from the floor in the win at Texas A&M.
– With his 20 points at A&M, Carrera became the 43rd member of the South Carolina 1,000 point club.
– The Gamecocks are 3-0 this season in games decided by five points or less.
– South Carolina is 35th in the most recent NCAA RPI (Feb. 9), and the Gamecocks are 7-2 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI.

GAMECOCKS IN THE POLLS

South Carolina is receiving votes in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll this week, while Carolina is No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 11 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and also for 11 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.

SCOUTING LSU

LSU enters Wednesday’s meeting as the SEC’s leader with an 8-2 record after a road win at Auburn last week before posting an 88-77 home win vs. Mississippi State on Saturday. The Tigers are 3-4 in road games this season, including 3-2 in SEC road games. Five average double-figure points, led by rookie forward Ben Simmons’ 19.4 per game. He also leads the SEC with 12.3 rebounds per game, while his 5.0 assists rank fifth in the league and his 1.9 steals second. Senior guard Keith Hornsby also adds double-digits with 13.4 points per game. LSU leads the SEC and ranks 32nd nationally with a 47.6 field goal percentage this season, led by Simmons’ 56.7 percent. The Tigers also rank third in the league in assists per game (16.4) and second in steals per game (7.7). Head coach Johnny Jones is in his fourth season leading LSU.

UP NEXT

South Carolina continues home action when it hosts No. 22/21 Kentucky on Saturday at Colonial Life Arena. Game time is set for Noon ET on ESPN with Tom Hart (play-by-play), Kara Lawson (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sidelines) on the call. The Gamecocks look for their first win vs. the Wildcats since the 2014 season.

BY THE NUMBERS

2 – Senior forward Mindaugas Kacinas hit a pair of 3s in the Gamecock upset win at Texas A&M on Feb. 6. He had only made one three in the previous nine SEC games to start the league campaign in 2016.
22 – The Gamecocks dished 22 assists on 30 made baskets in the win at Texas A&M. The second-most assists in a game this season for Carolina (24 vs. Lipscomb).
9 – Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell matched a career high with nine assists in the win at Texas A&M. For the year, Thornwell leads the Gamecocks with 3.56 assists per game.
6-6/5-5 – In the win at A&M, senior forward Michael Carrera reached his 1,000th career point, hitting 6-of-6 from the field, and 5-of-5 from the 3-point line. His five made 3s marked a new career high.
83 – Junior guard Duane Notice is just 83 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
48.7% – In overall games this season senior forward Michael Carrera has hit 37-of-76 attempts from 3-point range, 46.7 percent.
10+ – At least two Gamecocks have reached double-figure scoring in every game this season, with the exception of the Alabama contest on Jan. 13.

SERIES VS. LSU

The South Carolina series vs. LSU is tied at 15-15, but the Tigers hold a slight 8-6 edge in games played in Columbia. LSU has won three straight and four of the last five, the lone win in the stretch came in Frank Martin’s first-ever SEC win, an 82-73 overtime victory in Baton Rouge on Jan. 16, 2013. Carolina’s last home win in the series came in a 67-58 victory on Jan. 13, 2010.