Men's Basketball . January 26, 2018

Gamecocks Host No. 14 Texas Tech In Big 12/SEC Challenge Saturday

Jan. 26, 2018

South Carolina vs. Texas Tech

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina is set to play its fourth ranked opponent in as many games on Saturday when it hosts No. 14 Texas Tech in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Colonial Life Arena.

STARTING FIVE

> South Carolina is set to play its fourth ranked opponent in as many games on Saturday when No. 14/14 Texas Tech travels to Columbia for the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The meeting will be the fourth all-time between the two schools and the first in Columbia since Jan. 2, 1973.
> Grad student guard Wes Myers erupted for a season high 22 points, and a career high five 3s, as the Gamecocks got their first win in Gainesville since 2011 on Wednesday, upsetting the 20th-ranked Gators, 77-72. Carolina has now won two straight and four of the last five in the series with Florida. Following the victory at the O’Connell Center, Carolina is 8-4 in its last 12 games vs. ranked competition dating back to last season.
> Mr. double-double. Junior forward Chris Silva scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win vs. Florida for his fifth double-double of the season and the 10th of his career.
> After not facing a ranked opponent through the first 17 games of the season, the Gamecocks have will have faced four in a 12-day span when No. 14/14 Texas Tech visits Colonial Life Arena on Saturday. Carolina has a home win over No. 18/16 Kentucky, a narrow loss to No. 21/21 Tennessee and the Wednesday road win at No. 20/22 Florida during the stretch.
> Myers has been stellar during leage action, providing 12.3 points and 2.1 assists per game. He’s hit 44.3 percent of his attempts from the floor, and 12-of-24 attempts (50.0%) from 3-point range against conference foes.

COACHES VS. CANCER – SUITS AND SNEAKERS WEEK

> It’s Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week! Suits and Sneakers Week is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer, and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer. While coaching games this week, Frank Martin and his staff will wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder about the importance of fighting cancer.

HEADLINES

> South Carolina is in its 110th season of varsity basketball in 2017-18.
> South Carolina advanced to its first Final Four in 2016-17, which included posting its first NCAA Tournament win since the 1973 campaign when it tallied a 93-73 win over Marquette in the First Round.
> The Gamecocks finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 26-11 overall record. The 26 wins were a program record.
> Among active Division I head coaches, South Carolina’s Frank Martin holds the sixth-highest NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.667) behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Kansas’ Bill Self.
> Over the course of the last three seasons (2015-16-present), the Gamecocks are 26-19 (.578) combined in games played away from home (away/neutral).
> South Carolina compiled 51 wins over the course of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
> Entering the 2017-18 campaign, Frank Martin has led his team to at least 20 wins in seven of 10 seasons.
> South Carolina played six of its first seven games away from home to begin the 2017-18 campaign, posting a 5-2 record during the stretch.
> Martin is joined on the bench by assistant coaches Perry Clark (fifth season), Chuck Martin (first season) and Bruce Shingler (second season), and director of basketball operations Andy Assaley in his sixth season.
> Clark brings 19 years of head coaching experience to the bench, as he served the combined years as head coach at Tulane, Miami (Fla.) and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, while Chuck Martin served as head coach at Marist for five campaigns.
> Martin is 92-88 (.511) all-time in league play. In his 10 seasons leading a squad through a full slate of league games, his team has posted double-digit conference wins six times.
> South Carolina has improved its conference record in each of Frank Martin’s five seasons leading the squad through the SEC slate. In his first SEC campaign (2013), Martin led his squad to four wins, followed by five win sin 2014, six in 2015, 11 in 2016 and 12 last season.
> South Carolina is in its 26th basketball season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are 171-263 (.392) all-time in SEC games.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

> South Carolina is 13-7 on the year and 4-4 in SEC contests. The Gamecocks have won three of their last four games, and four of their last six.
> Two average double-figure points in overall games this season, paced by junior forward Chris Silva‘s 14.7 per game and grad student guard Frank Booker‘s 11.1 per outing.
> Booker has 12 double-figure scoring games on the season and he has 13 games with multiple 3-point baskets.
> Booker’s 44 made 3s on the year are a team high, and rank 10th in the SEC.
> Silva collected his fifth double-double of the season on Wednesday at Florida, scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Silva’s 3.0 offensive boards per game is third in the SEC and 44th nationally.
> The Gamecocks forced Florida into 12 turnovers on Wednesday, scoring 19 points off of those giveaways. On the year, Carolina is averaging 17.1 points off of turnovers per game.
> Grad student guard Wes Myers dished four assists and he matched his career high with four steals at Florida. Over the course of the last five games, he is averaging 13.6 points per game.
> In the SEC stats (overall games), Carolina is second in scoring defense (65.8 ppg), fourth in rebound margin (+5.5) and third in offensive rebounds (12.5).
> Individually, Silva is 15th in the league with 14.7 points per game and his 8.0 rebounds per game rank fourth. Hassani Gravett is eighth with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.9.
> In home games this season, the Gamecocks average 74.0 points per game and hold a +8.0 scoring margin over opponents.

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS

> Texas Tech is 16-4 on the year and 5-3 in Big 12 contests thus far. The Red Raiders are ranked 14th in both the AP and Coaches Polls this week.
> TTU is led by head coach Chris Beard in his second season. Did you know, Beard was the head coach of the South Carolina Warriors ABA team in 2011-12.
> Texas Tech is just 1-3 in true road games this season. The lone win came at No. 10 Kansas on Jan. 2.
> Three average double-figure points for the Red Raiders in overall games, led by Keenan Evans’ 17.1 per game. Evans scored a team high 26, adding five assists and three steals in TTU’s most recent win, a 75-70 victory vs. Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
> Jarrett Culver (10.9) and Zhaire Smith (10.1) also average double figures.
> Texas Tech is among the best nationally in opponent scoring average, holding opponents to just 62.0 points per game this season, a mark that leads the Big 12 and is seventh nationally.
> The Red Raiders are also among the best at forcing turnovers, as opponents are averaging 16.8 per game, which is second in the Big 12 and 14th in the nation.
> Other marquee wins for the Red Raiders this season include an 85-49 victory over No. 20 Northwestern on Nov. 19, an OT win over No. 22 Nevada on Dec. 5, and home wins over No. 18 Baylor and No. 2 West Virginia in Big 12 action.

THE SERIES

> South Carolina owns a 2-1 upperhand in the all-time series vs. Texas Tech.
> Saturday’s matchup will be the first between the two schools since the 1976-77 season.
> Carolina’s neutral-site win over the Red Raiders came in the NCAA Tournament in 1973, as the Gamecocks posted a 78-70 win in the First Round in Wichita, Kan., paced by 21 points from Kevin Joyce.

UP NEXT

> South Carolina resumes SEC play when Mississippi State travels to Columbia for a matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tip time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Pat Bradley (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.