Feb. 15, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina travels to Missouri on Tuesday for the second meeting between the Gamecocks and Tigers this season. The Gamecocks look to get back on the winning track after a loss to Kentucky over the weekend, and Missouri looks for its second-straight win after a victory over Tennessee on Saturday. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. ET at Mizzou Arena.

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. 23 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 12 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and also for 12 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.
– The Gamecocks hit just 32.7 percent (18-55) from the field, and Kentucky shot 48.4 percent (31-64), which saw the Wildcats post an 89-62 win over the Gamecocks in Columbia last Saturday. The UK win broke a 13-game South Carolina home win streak. Senior forward Michael Carrera continued to dominate on the offensive end, leading Carolina in scoring with 25 points, while pulling down 10 rebounds as well. The Wildcats saw two reach the 25-point mark, with sophomore guard Tyler Ulis leading the way with 27.
– Through 12 league games, Sindarius Thornwell and Michael Carrera have led the Gamecocks in scoring in every SEC game, each pacing Carolina in scoring six times.
– The Gamecocks are 3-0 this season in games following a loss, winning those games by an average of 7.3 points.
– The Gamecocks look for their fifth win in an away game this season on Tuesday, which would be the most since the 2008-09 team also won five road contests.
– South Carolina held off Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers on Feb. 10 to jump to the top of the SEC standings with a 94-83 victory over the visitors. Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell led Carolina for the second straight game, hitting six shots, and adding 11 points from the charity stripe for a game high 24. Once again the Gamecocks shot well in the game, hitting 48.4 percent from the field, and 75.0 percent from the free throw line.
– Senior forward Mindaugas Kacinas was named CoSIDA Academic All-District on Feb. 11, as he holds above a 3.3 cumulative GPA. The honor is the first of his career, and Kacinas now moves onto the national ballot for Academic All-America honors.
– South Carolina is 27th in the most recent NCAA RPI (Feb. 15), and the Gamecocks are 8-3 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI.
– The Gamecocks are in their 25th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2016. Carolina owns a 152-250 (.378) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 73-75 (.493) all-time record in conference games.

GAMECOCKS IN THE POLLS

South Carolina is receiving votes in the Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll this week, while Carolina is No. 23 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 12 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and also for 12 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

The Tigers are 9-16 overall on the year and are 2-10 in league games after posting a 75-64 home victory over Tennessee last Saturday. Only rookie forward Kevin Puryear averages double figures for Mizzou at 11.5 points per game, but junior guard Wes Clark is just behind at 9.8 points per game and sophomore guard Namon Wright adds 9.0 per outing. The Tigers average just 39.6 percent from the floor in league games this season and both of their SEC victories have come at home. The lone senior on the MU roster, forward Ryan Rosburg had a career-best outing at Vanderbilt (Feb. 10) with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Rosburg is averaging 20.7 points per game over the course of the last three games. The Tigers are led by head coach Kim Anderson in his second season.

UP NEXT

Following Tuesday’s matchup at Missouri, the Gamecocks return to Colonial Life Arena to host Florida on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd. Game time vs. the Gators is set for Noon ET with the matchup set to be broadcast on the SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call. The Gamecocks look to snap a seven-game Florida win streak in the series on Saturday. The contest vs. Florida is sold out.

BY THE NUMBERS

18,000 – The contest vs. Kentucky marked the second sellout at Colonial Life Arena this season (Alabama also sold out).
5 – Rookie forward Raymond Doby saw seven minutes of action in the victory vs. LSU, scoring five points to help the Gamecocks in a critical stretch in the second half. Doby scored three of those points at the foul line, while also dishing an assist and grabbing a steal.
25/24 – Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell tallied 25 points in the win at Texas A&M on Feb. 6 and 24 in the matchup vs. LSU. It marked the first back-to-back 20-point performances for Thornwell since his rookie season of 2013-14.
4 – Junior guard Duane Notice hit four 3s in the win vs. LSU, marking his first game with more than two threes since the Jan. 19 Ole Miss contest. Notice finished with 15 points and two steals vs. LSU.
8+ – In its 25 seasons in the SEC the Gamecocks have won eight or more SEC games just six times, including this season.
31 – The Gamecocks bench accounted for 31 points in the win vs. LSU, the most bench points scored for Carolina during the SEC campaign.

SERIES VS. MISSOURI

The series between the Gamecocks and Tigers is tied at 3-3 after Carolina posted an 81-72 win vs. Missouri earlier this season at Colonial Life Arena. In games played in Mizzou Arena, the Tigers hold a 2-0 upperhand.