Men's Basketball . February 16, 2018

Gamecocks Host No. 10 Auburn On Legends Weekend Saturday

Feb. 16, 2018

South Carolina vs. Auburn

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina is set to host No. 10/11 Auburn on Saturday in its Legends Weekend matchup. The meeting is the first between the two schools this season.

STARTING FIVE

> South Carolina begins its final multi-game homestand of the season on Saturday when it hosts SEC leader, Auburn. The Gamecocks will play three of their final five games of the regular season at Colonial Life Arena.
> Down 14 with 10 minutes to play, and down nine with 3:43 to play, South Carolina battled back from a double-digit deficit at No. 18/17 Tennessee on Tuesday night, to have a chance to tie in the final seconds of regulation. In the final 3:43, Carolina out-scored UT 8-2 and forced three turnovers in the stretch. Graduate student guard Frank Booker connected on a pair of lay-ups, junior forward Chris Silva made a pair of free throws and graduate student guard Wes Myers also hit a lay-up, but freshman forward Justin Minaya‘s 3-point attempt to tie at the buzzer fell just short.
> Over the course of the last five games, Booker’s 14.2 points per game during the stretch are a team high, and he has paced the Gamecocks in scoring three times. He’s hit 45.8 percent from the field and is 17-of-20 at the free throw line in those contests.
> South Carolina is 7-5 in home games this season and 2-4 in league home matchups. Carolina is averaging 70.5 points per game at Colonial Life Arena this season, and hold a +3.9 rebound margin over opponents.
> Silva now ranks in a tie for ninth all-time alongside Renaldo Balkman (2003-06) with 112 career blocks. His 33 this season pace the Gamecocks.

LEGENDS WEEKEND

> South Carolina is hosting its annual Legends Weekend in Columbia this Friday and Saturday. Legends will enjoy a reception on Friday evening, before a Tip-Off Club meeting and shoot around on Saturday pre-game. The group will be honored at halftime, before a special East Region Championship ring ceremony will be held for PJ Dozier, Justin McKie, Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell, who will all be in attendance, at mid-court.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

> South Carolina is 13-13 on the year and 4-9 in SEC play. The Gamecocks aim to snap a six-game losing streak on Saturday vs. Auburn.
> Junior forward Chris Silva leads the Gamecocks with 14.2 points per game in overall games this season, and his 15.4 per game in SEC play are also a team high.
> Graduate student guard Frank Booker also averages double-figures at 11.6 points per outing, and 12.2 per game in SEC contests.
> Seven different Gamecocks average 19.4 minutes per game or more.
> Silva’s 168 made free throws this season rank sixth nationally and are an SEC high.
> Booker is 11 made 3s away from cracking the Gamecock single-season record book in the category.
> As a team, Carolina’s 636 free throw attempts on the season are 17th nationally and second in the SEC (Kentucky, 643).
> In the SEC statistics, Carolina is fifth in scoring defense (68.0 ppg), sixth in rebound margin (+3.7) and sixth in turnover margin (+1.6).

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

> Auburn is 23-3 on the year and is ranked No. 10 in the AP poll this week. In league games, Auburn is 11-2.
> The Tigers are led by head coach Bruce Pearl in his fourth season.
> Auburn is 7-1 in road games this season and 5-1 in SEC road games.
> Four average double-figure points for the Tigers, led by Bryce Brown’s 16.6 per game, which ranks fifth in the league. Mustapha Heron (16.1), Jared Harper (13.5) and Desean Murray (10.9), who began his career at Presbyterian, average double figures as well.
> In Auburn’s last contest, a 76-66 home win vs. Kentucky, the Tigers hit just 36.7 percent from the field, but tallied eight 3s, and a 24-of-28 mark at the free throw line in the win. Brown and Harper led the team with 18 points each and Harper had seven assists.
> In the SEC stats, Auburn is first in scoring offense (85.1 ppg), first in scoring margin (+12.9), first in free throw percent (78.1%) and first in steals with 7.5 per game.
> Individually in the SEC stats, Brown, Heron and Harper all rank among the top 20 in scoring. Harper’s 6.0 assists per game are a league best, and Brown’s 3.4 made 3s per game are also a conference high.

THE SERIES

> Auburn leads the all-time series, 23-17.
> In Columbia, Auburn leads 11-6.
> The Gamecocks have won two straight and three of the last four meetings, including a 98-69 victory over the Tigers last season in Columbia.

UP NEXT

> South Carolina concludes its brief homestand with a 6:30 p.m. ET matchup vs. Georgia at Colonial Life Arena next Wednesday, Feb. 21. Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network broadcast.