March 2, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina celebrates its seniors on Thursday, hosting Georgia on Senior Night at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks look to even the season series vs. the Bulldogs, as UGA posted a 69-56 win in Athens in early February.

GAMECOCKS CELEBRATE SENIOR CLASS ON THURSDAY

South Carolina will celebrate seven seniors on Thursday prior to tip off vs. Georgia. Senior Night festivities will take place for managers Robert Holmes, Pat Leyden and Dylan Stiles and student-athletes, Michael Carrera, Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugas Kacinas and Brian Steele. The celebration will begin at 6:40 p.m. Arrive early to help us celebrate our seniors!

GAMECOCK 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 USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll this week, but the Gamecocks have dropped out of the AP poll receiving votes category. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 14 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and Carolina was ranked or receiving votes for 13 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.
– South Carolina got off to a slow start, which saw Mississippi State take a 25-9 advantage midway through the first half in a Bulldog win last Saturday in Starkville. The Gamecocks would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way, and MSU posted a 68-58 win over Carolina. Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell tallied a team high 12 points, and classmate Duane Notice added 10. Carolina hit just 36.7 percent from the field and committed a season high 21 turnovers in the loss.
– Through 16 league games, Sindarius Thornwell and Michael Carrera have led the Gamecocks in scoring in all but two SEC games, Carrera leading the Gamecocks in scoring seven times, and Thornwell seven as well
– South Carolina is 40th in the most recent NCAA RPI (March 2), 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 154-252 (.379) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 75-77 (.493) all-time record in conference games.
– Junior guard Duane Notice needs just five points to reach 1,000 for his career in the Garnet and Black. Notice would be the third Gamecock this season to reach the career milestone, as junior guard Sindarius Thornwell posted his 1,000th vs. Vandy on Jan. 9, and senior forward Michael Carrera reached the mark vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 6.

GAMECOCKS IN THE POLLS

South Carolina is receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 Poll this week, but the Gamecocks have dropped out of the AP poll receiving votes category. The Gamecocks have been receiving votes or have been ranked for the past 14 weeks in the Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and Carolina was ranked or receiving votes for 13 straight weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th.

SCOUTING GEORGIA

– Georgia enters Thursday’s contest with a 15-12 overall record, inluding an 8-8 mark in SEC games.
– UGA most recently posted an 80-66 home win vs. Ole Miss last Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak after losses to Florida, Vandy and Auburn.
– Georgia relies on four players for the bulk of its offense, with the combination of J.J. Frazier (441 points), Yante Maten (428), Kenny Gaines (351) and Charles Mann (285) accounting for 80.2 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring this season.
– Frazier’s 16.3 points per game lead the team. That number is slightly higher in league games at 16.6 per game, also a team best.
– Frazier has also collected a team best 41 steals on the year, which is second in the SEC at 1.8 per game. He had four steals vs. South Carolina in the Feb. 2, matchup in Athens.
– Maten paces the squad and is seventh in the SEC with 8.1 rebounds per game in overall games this season. His 8.6 mark in league games ranks fifth.
– UGA ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, as opponents average just 69.7 points per game. The team is also among the best in field goal percentage defense, as opponents hit just 38.7 percent from the field, which is second to only Kentucky (38.2%).
– UGA is led by head coach Mark Fox in his seventh season.

UP NEXT

South Carolina concludes the regular season when it travels to face Arkansas on Saturday. The Gamecocks will have their first Thursday-Saturday turnaround of the season, facing the Razorbacks on the road just 46 hours after tip-off vs. Georgia on Thursday. Game time vs. Arkansas is set for 5 p.m. ET, with Matt Stewart (play-by-play) and John Pelphrey (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network.

BY THE NUMBERS

25 – The South Carolina schools record for wins in a season, set by the 1969-70 squad that posted a a 25-3 overall record, including a 14-0 mark in ACC games to clinch the ACC regular-season title.
778 – Senior forward Michael Carrera ranks second among active players in the SEC with 778 career rebounds.
19 – Junior guard Duane Notice hit four 3s in the home win vs. Tennessee. It marked the 19th time in his career that he has hit at least three from beyond the arc in a game.
9 – South Carolina committed just nine turnovers in the home win vs. Tennessee, matching the second-fewest committed by the Gamecocks in a game this season.
8 – Junior guard Duane Notice matched a career high with eight assists in the win vs. Florida on Feb. 20.
41.7% – In overall games this season, Duane Notice ranks fifth in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.7 percent.
300 – Thursday’s game vs. Georgia marks the 300th game that head coach Frank Martin has coached in the college ranks as a head coach.

SERIES VS. GEORGIA

Georgia leads the all-time series with South Carolina, 56-50, but the Gamecocks hold a 31-18 advantage in games played in Columbia. The most recent home win for Carolina vs. the Bulldogs came in a 67-50 victory last season, fueled by four Gamecocks in double-figures, led by Laimonas Chatkevicius’ 12. A win vs. Georgia on Thursday would be the Gamecocks third in the series in the last five games.