Gamecocks Begin Road Swing At Wyoming Wednesday Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina begins a two-game road swing on Wednesday when it travels to face Wyoming in Laramie.  Tip time for the matchup is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET, and the contest will be broadcast on Stadium via Facebook (link to the right) with Chris Hassel,  Tim Scarborough and Olivia Dekkar on the call.  Fans can also listen on the Gamecocks IMG Sports Network, and on the official South Carolina Gamecocks app.

STARTING FIVE
> After splitting a pair of games last week versus intrastate foes, Carolina hits the road for its first road games of the season this week, first at Wyoming on Wednesday, before a showdown with nationally ranked Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor.  Carolina was 4-8 in road contests last season, including a 2-1 mark in non-conference road matchups.
> Rookie guard A.J. Lawson scored 25, and senior guard Hassani Gravett added 23, when the Gamecocks posted an 85-79 win over Coastal Carolina last Friday.  The duo combined for 48 of Carolina’s 85, with both guards hitting a career high in the win.  Lawson was also 11-of-15 at the line, and Gravett scored the bulk of his points with a 4-of-7 mark from 3-point range.
> Wednesday’s matchup will once again pit teacher and pupil against eachother for the second straight season.  Gamecock head coach Frank Martin coached Wyoming’s Allen Edwards at Miami Senior High School, before Edwards would go on to star at Kentucky.  Allen’s brother, Doug Edwards, a standout at Florida State, also played under Martin at Miami Senior, and is in his seventh season as the Director of Player Development for the Gamecocks.
> One of Carolina’s strengths this season on the offensive end is its balanced scoring.  Eight Gamecocks average 7.0 points per game or better, with three – Lawson (14.9), Gravett (11.1) and senior forward Chris Silva (10.3) – in double figures.
> In last season’s meeting against the Cowboys, Silva tallied 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and then-freshman forward Felipe Haase scored a career high 17 points, to pace the Gamecocks in the 80-64 win.  Wyoming closed Carolina’s halftime lead to three points early in the second half, but the Gamecocks responded with a 21-6 run and led by double digits the rest of the way.

THROUGH THE FIRST SEVEN GAMES…
> Three Gamecocks average double-figures thus far, led by rookie guard A.J. Lawson’s 14.9 points per game following his 25-point effort vs. Coastal Carolina … Senior guard Hassani Gravett and senior forward Chris Silva add 11.1 and 10.1 points per game, respectively … Silva’s 5.7 rebounds per game pace the team, as do his 1.7 blocks per game … The Gamecocks are yet to win back-to-back games, having traded wins and losses through the first seven games … Carolina holds a slight edge over opponents with a +2.1 rebound margin, however, the Gamecocks have been out-rebounded four times … Carolina is set to play its first road game of the season at Wyoming, but its third game away from home … The Gamecock bench is averaging 28.7 points per outing.

FRANK MARTIN
> South Carolina head coach Frank Martin is in his seventh season leading the Gamecocks and 12th season overall as a head coach in 2018-19.  Martin, the 2017 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year (CollegeInsider.com), led South Carolina to its first Final Four and a school record 26 wins in 2016-17.  In his 11 complete seasons as a head coach, Martin has led his teams to at least 21 wins seven times.  Martin is a native of Miami, Fla., and a graduate of FIU.

QUICK HITS
> South Carolina is in its 111th season of varsity basketball in 2018-19.
> Gamecock head coach Frank Martin is joined on the sidelines by assistant coaches Perry Clark (6th season), Bruce Shingler (3rd season) and Chuck Martin (2nd season).  Andy Assaley is in his seventh season as the director of operations.
> South Carolina is one of 13 DI schools nationally that have two or more former DI coaches serving as an assistant coach.  Perry Clark served as the head coach at Tulane, Miami (Fla.) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, while Chuck Martin was the head coach at Marist for five campaigns.
> South Carolina advanced to its first Final Four in 2016-17, which included posting its first NCAA Tounament win since the 1973 campaign when it talied a 93-73 win over Marquette in the First Round.
> The Gamecocks are 24-14 (.631) in neutral-site contests under the direction of head coach Frank Martin, including a 3-3 mark last season.
> Carolina is 15-18 (.454) over the course of the last three seasons in away contests (2015-16, 16-17, 17-18).

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
> The Gamecocks hit the road for the first time this season at Wyoming and Michigan this week.
> Carolina is 1-1 in games played away from home, with those contests coming at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.  The Gamecocks suffered a loss to Providence, before posting a 35-point win over George Washington.
> Carolina has played solid offense through the first seven games of the campaign, hitting 40 percent or better in five games, including a mark of 43.1 percent (25-58) in last Friday’s win over Coastal Carolina.
> Three average double-figure points for the Gamecocks in A.J. Lawson, Chris Silva and Hassani Gravett.  On the year, the trio is averaging 36.1 points per game.
> Last season, Carolina averaged 66.8 points per game in road contests, with Silva averaging a team high 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in those contests.  The Gamecocks were 4-8 on the road last season with wins at Wofford, FIU, Georgia and at nationally ranked Florida.
> South Carolina returns seven letterwinners from last season’s 17-16 squad, including senior guard Hassani Gravett and senior forward Chris Silva.
> Carolina welcomes eight newcomers to its roster this season, including a pair of transfers and six freshmen student-athletes.  Jair Bolden (transfer/George Washington/guard), graduate transfer Tre Campbell (transfer/Georgetown/guard), Keyshawn Bryant (freshman/guard), Jermaine Couisnard (freshman/guard), Alanzo Frink (freshman/forward), A.J. Lawson (freshman/guard), T.J. Moss (freshman/guard) and Nathan Nelson (freshman/forward) join the Garnet and Black this fall.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
> Wyoming is 2-6 on the year and the Cowboys have suffered two-straight losses entering Wednesday’s contest against Carolina.
> Wyoming’s two wins this season have come against Grambling State and Richmond.  
> The Cowboys are averaging 73.1 points per game this season, led by four in double-figures.  
> Senior guard Justin James has scored 199 points through the first eight games, and leads the team in points (24.9), rebounds (9.8), assists (4.1) and steals (1.1) per game.
> Sophomore guard Hunter Maldonado (15.2), r-freshman forward Hunter Thompson (13.3) and junior guard Jake Hendricks (11.0) are also in double figures.
> James tallied 25 points with eight rebounds and five assists in the team’s most recent outing, an 85-80 loss to Northern Colorado.
> Wyoming opponents are averaging 79.2 points per game this season and out-rebounding the Cowboys by a +3.4 margin.

COMING UP NEXT
> After Wednesday’s contest at Wyoming, Carolina will head to Ann Arbor, Mich., on Thursday to prepare for Saturday’s Noon matchup with No. 5/5 Michigan.  The contest will be broadcast on FS1 with Justin Kutcher (pxp) and Len Elmore (analyst) on the call.