Gamecock Gameday: #23 South Carolina Travels To Missouri On Saturday

Jan. 27, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nationally-ranked South Carolina begins a two-game road swing when it travels to Missouri to face the Tigers on Saturday night at Mizzou Arena. The meeting marks just the eighth all-time between the two schools and the fourth in Columbia, Mo. South Carolina aims for its first-ever win at Mizzou Arena on Saturday.

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.
– South Carolina remains in the national rankings this week, checking in at No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll. The Gamecocks jumped in to the national rankings on Nov. 28 for the first time this season after posting wins over two ranked opponents the previous week in No. 25/24 Michigan and No. 18/16 Syracuse. The Gamecocks checked in at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll. The Gamecocks have risen to as high as 15th in the AP poll this season, which was the highest rank for Carolina since the Gamecocks were ranked 14th in the final poll of the 1997-98 campaign. The Gamecocks high mark in the Coaches poll this season was at No. 15.
– A stellar offensive performance from the home team saw Carolina post a 98-69 win over Auburn at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday. The Gamecocks connected on 30 shot attempts in the game, including 15 3s, which marked the most 3s ever during the Frank Martin era, while it tied for the second-most in a game by Carolina all-time.
– The Gamecocks continued their stifling defense in the win over Auburn, holding the Tigers to just 35.6% from the floor, and 14.3% from 3-point range.
– Over the course of the last three games, Carolina has held its opponents to just 19.0% (11-58) from 3-point range. Florida did not hit a 3 (0-17), Kentucky connected on 8-of-20 (40.0%) and Auburn hit just 3-of-21 (14.3%) attempts.
– In league play, Carolina opponents are averaging 19.4 turnovers per contest.
– South Carolina currently leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 26.4 percent from beyond the arc this season.
– South Carolina leads the SEC in several defensive categories entering Saturday’s game at Missouri. In overall games, Carolina is tops in scoring defense (61.2), FG% defense (37.3%) and 3-point FG% defense (26.4%), and is first in steals (8.2 per game). In stricly league games, Carolina is first in scoring defense (64.6), in FG% defense (39.9%) and first in steals (8.7 per game).
– South Carolina is 12-1 at home this season, averaging 75.2 points per game and hitting 43.6% from the field.
– The Gamecocks are 3-2 in away games this season (2-1 in SEC games), and average 67.4 points per game and have hit 40.1% from the field.
– South Carolina head coach Frank Martin is 82-79 (.509) all-time in conference games.
– Martin is 23-32 (.418) against ranked opponents as a head coach. His teams have four wins over opponents ranked in the top five, and two wins over opponents who are ranked No. 1.
– South Carolina is in its 26th basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are 161-254 (.386) all-time in SEC games.
– The Gamecocks currently rank 17th in the NCAA RPI (games through Jan. 25), which is third in the SEC behind Kentucky (6th) and Florida (11th).
– Senior guard Justin McKie tallied a career high 13 points, connecting on three 3s, also a career high, in Carolina’s most recent win vs. Auburn.
– The senior trio of Sindarius Thornwell (22), Duane Notice (27) and Justin McKie (13) accounted for 62 points in the Carolina win over Auburn.

COACHES VS. CANCER

The Gamecock coaching staff will be wearing sneakers with their suits for #SuitsAndSneakers on Saturday at Missouri, the NABC’s initiative for cancer awareness. Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise awareness about the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission, and promote the American Cancer Society as a place for help and support. While coaching games during the week, coaches wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder about the importance of nutrition and physical activity in reducing cancer risk.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

– Missouri enters Saturday’s game with a 5-14 overall record, including an 0-7 mark in SEC games.
– The Tigers most recently suffered an 89-74 loss on the road at Mississippi State on Wednesday.
– Missouri is led by head coach Kim Anderson in his third season.
– Two average double-figure points for the Tigers, led by junior Jordan Barnett’s 12.5 per outing. Sophomore Kevin Puryear adds 11.8 per game.
– Missouri is 4-7 in home games this season.
– The Tigers are holding opponents to just 32.6% from 3-point range this season, which ranks sixth in the SEC and top 100 nationally.
– Missouri has played three of its last four games on the road.
– Three average double-figure points in league games with Barnett’s 14.7 per game a team high, followed by Terrence Phillips’ 13.1 per game and Puryear’s 10.7.

MISSOURI SERIES

The Gamecocks and Tigers have met just seven times and MU holds a 4-3 advantage in those games. Carolina is 0-3 in games played at Mizzou Arena, while the Gamecocks are 2-1 in homes games in the series and 1-0 in neutral site games. South Carolina suffered a 72-67 loss at Mizzou Arena last season.

BY THE NUMBERS

8-8 – Sophomore forward Chris Silva was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe in the win over Auburn.
13 – South Carolina’s 13 steals vs. FIU on Dec. 4 marked a season high in the category, surpassing the previous high of 12 vs. Syracuse.
13 – Senior guard Justin McKie scored a career high 13 points in the win over Auburn. He hit 5-of-7 from the floor, including a career best 3-of-4 from range.
14-15 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell set new career highs when he hit 14 free throws on 15 attempts at Kentucky on Jan. 21. Thornwell missed his first free throw of the game, and went on to finish 14-14 from the line the rest of the way.
16 – Sophomore forward Chris Silva scored a career high 16 points in Carolina’s win vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 14.
20-22 – Sophomore forward Chris Silva has hit 20-of-22 from the free throw line over the course of the last five games.
23 – South Carolina dished a season high 23 assists in the Jan. 24 win over Auburn. It is the third-most ever during the Frank Martin era.
25 – The 25 turnovers by Texas A&M were an opponent high this season. It was the most turnovers in a game by a Carolina opponent since SE Louisiana committed 26 turnovers on Dec. 21, 2011.
28 – Dozier’s 28 made 3s this season are 18 more than his total of 10 from his rookie campaign.
115 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell currently ranks third all-time in career games started in the Garnet and Black at 115. Thornwell will tie Melvin Watson and BJ McKie for first all-time in the category (116) with his next start.
166 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell now ranks in the top 10 in career steals at Carolina with 166, including 33 this season.
173 – South Carolina is 173-80 all-time at Colonial Life Arena, including an 12-1 mark this season.
300 – Senior guard Duane Notice collected the 300th assist of his career at Memphis on Dec. 30.
560 – Sindarius Thornwell ranks fourth among active players in the SEC with 560 career rebounds.
1,232 – Senior guard Duane Notice ranks 26th all-time at Carolina with 1,232 points. He is 19 points away from surpassing Lee Collins (1,250) for 25th all-time.
1,552 – Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell ranks seventh all-time at Carolina with 1,552 career points. He needs 35 points to surpass Mike Dunleavy (1,586) for sixth all-time. Thornwell is just the 10th Gamecock to score at least 1,500 points during his career.
2,784 – Senior guards Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell have combined to score 2,784 points during their time in the Garnet and Black.

UP NEXT

South Carolina concludes its two-game road stretch at LSU next Wednesday, Feb. 1. The matchup will be televised on the SEC Network with Tom Hart (pxp) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) on the call. The meeting marks the first in Baton Rouge since the 2015 SEC season.