Gamecock Gameday: No. 19/18 Carolina Faces Seton Hall Monday In Under Armour Reunion

Dec. 9, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Gamecocks travel back to the Big Apple on Monday to face Seton Hall in the Under Armour Reunion Doubleheader at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Auburn and Boston College will kick off action at the event, before the Gamecocks and Pirates meet at 9 p.m. South Carolina already has a win on its resume in NYC this season, a 64-50 upset over No. 18 Syracuse on Nov. 26.

GAME STORYLINES

– South Carolina is in its 109th season of varsity basketball in 2016-17.
– On the sidelines, Frank Martin is joined by associate head coach Matt Figger, assistant coaches Perry Clark and Bruce Shingler, and director of operations Andy Assaley.
– The Gamecocks are ranked No. 19 this week in the Associated Press Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll after a pair of wins last week vs. Vermont and FIU. The No. 19 ranking in the AP poll matches Carolina’s highest spot in the chart last season, having not been ranked before that since March 2004.
– Monday’s game vs. Seton Hall marks the first for Carolina since Dec. 4, having a week-long break from game action due to final exams on campus in Columbia.
– Monday’s game marks the second time that Gamecock head coach Frank Martin has coached at Madison Square Garden. During his first season as head coach at Kansas State the Wildcats suffered a 68-59 loss to Notre Dame at The Garden in the Jimmy V Classic.
– South Carolina enters Monday’s matchup ranked in the top five in the country in both scoring defense (3rd, 55.5) and field goal percentage defense (2nd, 33.7%) (NCAA stats games through Dec. 8).
– South Carolina pushed its win streak to eight with a 70-54 home win over FIU on Dec. 4. Senior guard Duane Notice matched his career high with 27 points, while setting a new career mark with six made 3s in the game. Sophomore guard PJ Dozier marked the scoreboard for 20, his second-consecutive 20-point outing, while he also tied for the team lead in rebounds (7) and steals (4).
– For his play vs. Vermont and FIU, Dozier was named the Dec. 5, SEC Player of the Week.
– Sophomore forward Chris Silva blocked a career high five FIU shot attempts on Dec. 4. It was the most blocks in a game for a Gamecock since Damontre Harris had five blocks in a win over Georgia on Feb. 15, 2012.
– The Gamecocks have held six of eight opponents this season to under 40% from the field, including Michigan, which shot just 19.2% in the matchup on Nov. 23.
– South Carolina ranks 15th in the NCAA RPI (games through Dec. 8), which is second in the SEC behind Florida which ranks fifth.
– Senior guard Duane Notice matched his career high with 27 points in the win over FIU. He set a new career high with six made 3s in the game, connecting on 10 attempts.

SCOUTING SETON HALL

– The Pirates are led by head coach Kevin Willard in his fifth season. He is the son of Ralph Willard, who coached at Western Kentucky, Pitt and Holy Cross during his career.
– Seton Hall won the Big East Tournament last season to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates defeated eventual national champion Villanova to clinch the conference crown.
– SHU enters Monday’s matchup with a 7-2 record and on a three-game win streak.
– Seton Hall defeated Hawaii and Cal at least week’s FS1 Pearl Harbor Invitational Tournament in Honolulu.
– The Pirates have four averaging double-figures entering Monday’s matchup, led by junior guard Khadeen Carrington’s 20.0 points per game. Desi Rodriguez (14.6), Myles Powell (12.6) and Angel Delgado (13.6) also contribute over 10 points per game.
– Delgado’s 10.9 rebounds per game rank 17th in the nation. He led the Pirates with 16 points and 12 rebounds in their most recent win over Cal.

BY THE NUMBERS

108 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell currently ranks tied for fourth all-time with 108 career games started in the Garnet and Black. He has started every game of his Carolina career. He is three starts away from tying Alex English for third all-time with 111 career starts.
13 – South Carolina’s 13 steals vs. FIU marked a season high in the category, surpassing the previous high of 12 vs. Syracuse.
23 – The 23 turnovers by FIU marked a season high for Gamecock opponents.
+8.1 – The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank 25th nationally (games through Dec. 8) in rebound margin entering Monday’s matchup vs. Seton Hall with a mark of +8.1.
3-0 – Carolina is 3-0 all-time in NYC under the direction of Coach Martin, having three wins at the Barclays Center – vs. Manhattan, vs. No. 9 Iowa State and this season, vs. No. 18 Syracuse.
2.4 – PJ Dozier’s 2.4 steals per game leads the Gamecocks and ranks second in the SEC. Dozier has four games this season with at least three steals, and collected a season high four steals vs. FIU
144 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell now ranks in the top 10 in career steals at Carolina with 144, including 11 this season.
70.2% – Rookie forward Maik Kotsar has hit 70.2 percent of his shot attempts through the first eight games of the campaign, connecting on 33-of-47 attempts.
2,533 – Senior guards Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell have combined to score 2,533 points during their time in the Garnet and Black.
511 – Sindarius Thornwell ranks third among active players in the SEC with 511 career rebounds.
1,409 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell ranks 15th all-time at Carolina with 1,409 career points. He needs 16 points to pass Melvin Watson (1,424) for 14th all-time. Thornwell is just the fourth Gamecock to score at least 1,400 points since the turn of the century.
1,124 – Senior guard Duane Notice ranks 32nd all-time at Carolina with 1,124 points. He is 19 points away from surpassing Joe Rhett for 31st all-time.
28-1 – Over the course of the last two seasons, the Gamecocks are 27-1 in games when leading at the half. Carolina was 20-1 last season when leading at the half, and 8-0 this season when holding the edge at the break.

THE DEFENSE

South Carolina is making headlines this season for its tenacious defense, which has held six of eight opponents to below 40% from the floor. The Gamecocks have ranked among the top 25 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at the conclusion of the last two seasons – 13th in 2014-15 when opponents hit 38.7%, and 25th in 2015-16 when opponents hit 39.7% – while Carolina currently ranks second nationally (opponent field goal percent of 33.7%) in the category this season.

UP NEXT

South Carolina travels to Tampa, Fla., to face USF on Saturday, Dec. 17, following Monday’s matchup vs. Seton Hall. The Gamecocks posted an 81-63 win over the Bulls last season in Columbia behind 19 points from then-senior forward Michael Carrera. Game time in Tampa is set for 1 p.m. ET and the contest will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.