Gamecock Gameday: #19/16 Carolina Hosts Alabama Tuesday Night

Feb. 6, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina aims for its 20th win of the 2016-17 campaign and its 10th win of the SEC season on Tuesday when it hosts Alabama at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks are currently in sole possession of first place in the SEC standings. The meeting against the Crimson Tide is the only matchup between the two schools this SEC regular season. South Carolina has won four-straight entering Tuesday’s game, most recently collecting a two-point win over border rival Georgia on Saturday. Alabama has lost two straight, but owns a 6-4 record in league games, which has the Crimson Tide in a two-way tie for fourth in the league standings.

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. 19 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll. South Carolina has been ranked in the AP poll for eight weeks this season and in the Coaches Poll for nine weeks.
– South Carolina looks for its 20th win of the season on Tuesday vs. Alabama. It would mark the first time the Gamecocks have had back-to-back 20-wins seasons (25-9 during 2015-16 campaign) since the 2004-05 (20-13) and the 2005-06 (23-15) seasons.
– The Gamecocks are also looking for their 10th SEC win of the year on Tuesday vs. the Crimson Tide. It would mark just the fifth double-digit win total in SEC play for Carolina in its 26-seasons in the league. It would also be just the second time that Carolina would have back-to-back seasons with double-digit league wins, as the Gamecocks posted 11 last season. (15 SEC wins in 1997, 11 in 1998).
– Paced by sophomore guard PJ Dozier’s seventh 20-point game of the season and four 3-pointers each from seniors Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice, No. 19/20 Carolina held off Georgia to register a 77-75 win last Saturday. The win completed the regular-season sweep of the Bulldogs after Georgia had won the previous three meetings between the two schools. Dozier would score five points in the final 1:52 of the game, however, senior guard Justin McKie’s two free throws with just six seconds remaining proved the game winners.
– Thornwell and rookie forward Maik Kotsar both pulled down three offensive rebounds in the win over Georgia. Carolina scored 16 second-chance points vs. the Bulldogs.
– South Carolina’s backcourt has accounted for 81.0% of scoring over the course of the last five games.
– Over the course of the last five games, Carolina has held its opponents to just 26.4% (23-87) from 3-point range.
– In league play, Carolina opponents are averaging 18.8 turnovers per contest. Most recently, Georgia committed 15 turnovers in the Gamecock win on Feb. 4.
– South Carolina has forced at least 15 turnovers in every SEC game this season. Texas A&M’s 25 marked an opponent season high in the category.
– South Carolina currently leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 26.3 percent from beyond the arc this season.
– South Carolina leads the SEC in several defensive categories entering Tuesday’s game vs. Alabama. In overall games, Carolina is tops in scoring defense (61.5), FG% defense (37.9%) and 3-point FG% defense (26.3%), and is first in steals (8.2 per game). In stricly league games, Carolina is first in scoring defense (64.3), in FG% defense (40.3%), in 3-point FG% defense (26.8%) and first in steals (8.6 per game).
– South Carolina is 13-1 at home this season, averaging 75.4 points per game and hitting 43.6% from the field.
– The Gamecocks are 5-2 in away games this season (4-1 in SEC games), and average 69.7 points per game and have hit 40.7% from the field.
– South Carolina head coach Frank Martin is 85-79 (.518) 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 164-254 (.392) all-time in SEC games.
– The Gamecocks currently rank 18th in the NCAA RPI (games through Feb. 5), which is third in the SEC behind Kentucky (7th) and Florida (12th).

NATIONAL RANKINGS

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 16th in the AP poll this season (Dec. 12), 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 (Dec. 12).

SCOUTING ALABAMA

– Alabama enters Tuesday’s matchup with the Gamecocks holding a 13-9 overall record, including a 6-4 mark in SEC games. Alabama is in a two-way tie with Arkansas for fourth place in the standings.
– The Crimson Tide is led by head coach Avery Johnson in his second season. The former NBA star on the court and on the sidelines, Johnson owns a 31-24 record thus far at Alabama.
– In league play, Alabama has wins over Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, LSU, Missouri, Georgia and again vs. Mississippi State. Three of those wins have come on the road – at MSU, at LSU and at Georgia.
– Two average double-figure points for the Tide, led by freshman forward Braxton Key’s 12.1 per game. Key, a native of Charlotte, N.C., also paces the team in league games at 15.0 points per outing.
– R-freshman guard Dazon Ingram adds 10.2 per outing in overall games and his 3.7 assists per outing lead the team.
– Key and graduate guard Corban Collins led the squad with 17 points each in the most recent outing vs. Auburn.
– In the SEC statistics, Alabama is among league leaders in scoring defense (2nd, 65.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (5th, 41.5%), rebound margin (1st, +6.5) and offensive rebounds (12.7 per game).

ALABAMA SERIES

Alabama leads the overall series with South Carolina, 26-16, but the Gamecocks hold a 12-5 edge in games played in Columbia. The teams split last season’s two regular-season meetings, with Alabama halting Carolina’s 15-game win streak to start the season with a 73-50 win in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 13, before the Gamecocks posted a 78-64 victory just two weeks later at Colonial Life Arena. Carolina has won three of the last five overall, and looks for its fifth-straight over the Crimson Tide in Columbia on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

South Carolina travels to Mississippi State this weekend to face the Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in an 8 p.m. ET matchup on Saturday. The contest will be televised on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins (analyst) and Dalen Cuff (analyst) on the call.