Gamecocks At LSU Saturday In Matchup On The Bayou

COLUMBIA, S.C. – (RV/-) South Carolina (9-7, 4-0 SEC) travels to face (RV/RV) LSU (13-3, 3-0 SEC) on Saturday with top honors in the SEC on the line.  The Gamecocks, Tigers and No. 3/3 Tennessee remain the only unbeaten teams in SEC action thus far.  Tip time for the matchup at the Maravich Center is set for 6 p.m. ET on the SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) on the call.

STARTING FIVE
> It’s a battle on the bayou on Saturday, as undefeated in league play South Carolina travels to face LSU, also unbeaten through their first three SEC matchups.  South Carolina is 4-0 in the SEC for just the third time since joining the league after the 74-71 come-from-behind win at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.  Carolina was also perfect through the first four conference contests in 1997 (SEC champs) and in 2017 (advanced to first Final Four).
> Senior guard Hassani Gravett was clutch in the final minutes of Wednesday’s win at Vandy.  He scored 17 points in the game – all in the second half – including nine of Carolina’s final 11 points over the final 1:38 of the ballgame.  Gravett sank two free throws to seal the win with just two seconds on the clock.
> Rookie guard A.J. Lawson led the Gamecocks in scoring for the sixth time this season with his fourth 20-point outing of the season at Vanderbilt.  The rookie scored a game high 24 points, one point shy of matching his season high, while also collecting a pair of steals.  His second free throw of a pair with 23 seconds remaining would be the game-winning point.  He leads the Gamecocks in scoring this season (overall games) with 13.3 points per outing.
> Over the final five minutes of Wednesday’s game at Vandy, Carolina hit 12-of-13 free throw attempts (95.3%), led by Gravett, Lawson and sophomore forward Felipe Haase each hitting all four of their attempts during the stretch.  In league play at the line, Carolina’s ranks third at 77.7 percent (87-112), and Gravett is fifth (92.0%), and Haase is ninth (90.0%).
> What’s clicking during this five-game win streak? Carolina’s offense.  The Gamecocks are averaging 82.8 points per game during the stretch, with four averaging double-figures.  Gravett (14.8), Lawson (13.8), Silva (13.2) and rookie forward Keyshawn Bryant (12.4) are all averaging double-figures, and as a team, the Gamecocks are hitting 45.1 percent (134-297) from the field.  To compare, through the first 11 games of the season, Carolina was 4-7, scoring 72.0 points per game and hitting just 41.4 percent overall.

THROUGH 16 GAMES…
> The Gamecocks rank sixth in the SEC (overall games) in free throw percent (73.1%), which ranks 85th nationally.
> In blocked shots (overall games), Carolina is ninth with 5.1.  That mark ranks 22nd nationally – which shows the SEC is one of the top shot-blocking leagues in the country.
> Silva is fifth in the league and 32nd in the nation with 2.19 blocks per game.  In league games, he is averaging 3.0 per contest.
> Rookie forward Keyshawn Bryant leads the Gamecocks with 16 dunks on the year.
> Carolina is forcing 16.4 turnovers per game (31st nationally), and in league play, that number is slightly higher at 16.5 opponent takeaways per game.
> In home games, the Gamecocks score an average of 76.2 points per game, in six games away from home, Carolina averages 74.0 points per game.
> The Gamecocks are averaging 23.9 free throw attempts per outing.  To compare, last season through 16 games, Carolina was taking an average of 24.1 per game, in in 2016-17, through 16 games, 19.2 attempts 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.
> Prior to his time on the sidelines in the college ranks, Martin spent 15 years in high school coaching in Miami, Fla., including the last seven as a head coach. He was part of five state championships as an assistant at Miami Senior High School (1985-93), before earning two titles as the program’s head coach (1995-98). Highlighting Martin’s stint as the head coach of the program were consecutive 30-win seasons and consecutive Florida 6A State Championships in 1996 and 1997, with his 1997 squad earning a 36-1 overall record and ranking No. 4 in the USA Today Top 25 Poll. He also served as the head coach at North Miami Senior High School (1993-95) and one season at Booker T. Washington High School (1999-2000).
> Among active Division I head coaches, South Carolina’s Frank Martin holds the seventh-highest (tied with Michigan’s John Beilein) NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.667) behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Kansas’ Bill Self, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Villanova’s Jay Wright.
> Martin led team’s are 99-95 (.510) all-time in league play.

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 was 15-18 (.454) over the course of the last three seasons in away contests (2015-16, 16-17, 17-18).
> Martin is 30-40 (.428) 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.
> Senior forward Chris Silva was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team by both the media and coaches; and also named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List, the Naismith Trophy Watch List and the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List.  He was also named a Senior CLASS Award Candidate.

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
> The Gamecocks are 9-7 overall, 4-0 in the SEC, and ride a five-game win streak into Saturday’s game at LSU.
> Should the Gamecocks win in Baton Rouge on Saturday, it would mark Carolina’s third-straight SEC road win, which hasn’t happened since 2017.
> Silva snapped a streak of eight-straight games in double figures when he scored a season low two points at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.  During his streak of eight-straight in double digits, he averaged 15.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
> Gravett paces Carolina in league play with 17.0 points per game.  He has hit double figures in all four games, with a league season best 22 points in the road win at Florida.
> In Carolina’s two SEC road wins, Gravett is averaging 19.5 points per game, and he’s hit 54.5 percent of his shot attempts (12-22), including 7-of-12 from 3-point range (58.3 percent).
> Carolina’s rookie starters – A.J. Lawson and Keyshawn Bryant – are averaging a combined 22.5 points per game in SEC matchups.
> Junior forward Maik Kotsar paces Carolina in league games with 6.8 rebounds per outing.  
> In three career games vs. LSU, Silva averages 9.0 points per outing.  He tallied 16 points with eight rebounds in the 2017 win in Baton Rouge.
> South Carolina returns seven letterwinners from last season’s 17-16 squad, including senior guard Hassani Gravett and senior forward Chris Silva.
> Carolina welcomes nine newcomers to its roster this season, including transfers and six freshmen student-athletes.  Jair Bolden (transfer/George Washington/guard), redshirt-junior Raymond “Quad” Borup (r-junior/forward), 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).

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
> LSU is 13-3 overall this season, including a 9-0 mark in games played at the Maravich Center.  The Tigers are 3-0 through their first few games of league play, with a home win over Alabama, and road wins at Arkansas and Ole Miss.
> Head coach Will Wade is in his second season at LSU.
> Standout point guard Tremont Waters leads the Tigers in points (13.6), assists (6.2) and steals (3.0) per game.  
> Skylar Marys (13.3), Naz Reid (12.9) and Ja’vonte Smart (10.3) are also in double figures for the Tiger offense.
> In overall games, LSU is third in the SEC in scoring offense (82.1 ppg), sixth in scoring margin (+10.5), third in field goal percent (49.1), fifth in 3-point field goal percent (35.9), and second in steals (9.7).
> In home games, LSU is averaging 84.8 points per game.

COMING UP NEXT
Carolina returns to Colonial Life Arena next week to face No. 14/12 Auburn on Tuesday.  The contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network with a 6:30 p.m. ET tip time.  Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Andy Kennedy (analyst) will have the call.