Men's Hoops To Face Western Kentucky Sunday

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – South Carolina (1-1) concludes action at the inaugural Asheville Championship on Sunday when it faces Western Kentucky (1-1) at 5 p.m. ET.  The meeting is the eighth all-time between the two schools, and the first since the 2010-11 campaign.  Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) will have the call for the ESPNU broadcast, while Derek Scott (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst) will have the call over the air on the Gamecock Radio Network.

GAME INFORMATION
ARENA: Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville (7,654)
BROADCAST: ESPNU
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Mark Neely
  ANALYST: Robbie Hummel
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network
  IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
  ANALYST: Casey Manning
  SIRIUS: – | XM: – | SXM APP: –
WATCH: WatchESPN/ESPN App
LIVE STATS: GamecocksOnline.com
  SERIES: South Carolina leads 6-1
  AT NEUTRAL SITES: Carolina leads 2-0
  SERIES TREND: The Gamecocks have won three straight in the series
  LAST MEETING: 87-85 double-overtime Gamecock win, in Bowling Green, on Nov. 27, 2010

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> The Gamecocks suffered their first loss of the season on Friday, falling 66-62 to Princeton.  Carolina struggled from the field, hitting just 36.2 percent overall, and just 15.4 percent (4-26) from 3-point range.  Princeton made 11 3-pointers in the win.
> Junior forward Wildens Leveque posted the first double-double of his career with a dominant 12-point, 10-rebound performance vs. the Tigers on Friday.  Leveque, who was 6-of-6 from the field, played 32 minutes of action, including 18:52 of the second half.  Four of his rebounds were on the offensive end.
> The Gamecocks improved to 84-30 all-time in season openers when they posted a 78-60 victory over USC Upstate in the 2021-22 opener on Nov. 9 at Colonial Life Arena.  Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard and junior forward Wildens Leveque led the Gamecocks with 14 points each, while Couisnard dished out a game high seven assists in the win.
> Head coach Frank Martin is in his 10th season leading the Gamecocks.  He is assisted by associate head coach Chuck Martin (fifth season), assistant coaches Will Bailey (second season) and Brian Steele (first season), and the director of operations is Andy Assaley (10th season).  
> South Carolina posted a 101-76 exhibition win vs. Benedict on Nov. 4.  James Reese V led all scorers with 21 in the contest.
> The 2021-22 campaign is the 20th season of basketball at Colonial Life Arena.  The facility opened just prior to the 2002-03 campaign.
> South Carolina returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, including senior forward Keyshawn Bryant (14.4 ppg), junior guard Jermaine Couisnard (10.1 ppg) and junior forward Wildens Leveque (6.1 ppg).
> Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard is Carolina’s top returning assist maker after averaging 3.2 per game last season.  For his career, Couisnard has 28 games with three or more assists, including his career high of 10, which he set in a home win over Mississippi State on March 3, 2020.
> The Gamecocks welcome nine newcomers to the team this season, including a trio of freshmen in Devin Carter, Ta’Quan Woodley and Jacobi Wright.  Six transfers are also set for their first season at Carolina in Chico Carter Jr. (Murray State), Josh Gray (LSU), Brandon Martin (USC Upstate), James Reese V (North Texas), Erik Stevenson (Washington) and AJ Wilson (George Mason).

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
> Western Kentucky is also 1-1 on the season, with its win coming in a 79-74 victory over Alabama State last Tuesday, before suffering a 73-69 loss to Minnesota at the Asheville Championship on Friday night.
> Head coach Rick Stansbury, who was the longtime head coach at Mississippi State, is in his sixth season at WKU.
> Two Hilltoppers average double-figure points early this season, led by sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight’s 26.5 points per outing.  Senior forward Jairus Hamilton adds 16.5 per game.
> Against Minnesota, McKnight hit 10 field goals, and was 13-of-14 at the free throw line, en route to 34 points in the matchup.  He also dished out four assists and collected four steals.
> WKU is averaging 43.3 percent from the field, and 28.9 percent from 3-point range thus far in 2021-22.

EXHIBITION RECAP
> South Carolina posted a 101-76 win over Benedict Nov. 4 at Colonial Life Arena in exhibition action.
> Gamecock guard James Reese V led all scorers with 21 points, behind nine made field goals, including a trio of 3s in the contest.
> Senior guard Erik Stevenson added 14, connecting on a game high four makes from 3-point range. Rookie guard Devin Carter added 13, and sophomore forward Josh Gray scored 10.
> Gray was dominant on the boards, collecting 12 rebounds including four on the offensive glass.
> Returning junior forward Wildens Leveque battled foul trouble in the matchup, but he was 4-of-4 from the floor, with four rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes of action.
> As a team, Carolina hit 56.6% from the floor, connecting on 43-of-76 attempts.  The Gamecocks were also solid at the free throw line, hitting 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the stripe.

DID YOU KNOW?
> First-year assistant coach Brian Steele is one of 28 assistants nationally who are 30 or younger.  Steele just turned 28 on Nov. 10.  A three-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks on the hardwood (2012-15), Steele saw action in 50 career games in the Garnet and Black, with four starts. After knee injuries dotted his first three seasons on the court, Steele opted to serve as a student assistant coach during the 2015-16 campaign.  He did the same during the historic 2016-17 season that saw Carolina reach the Final Four, and then was a graduate assistant manager the following year.

BY THE NUMBERS
:52 – Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard almost gave the Gamecocks the winning edge vs. Princeton on Friday night, as the East Chicago, Ind., native hit a trio of 3s in the final 52 seconds of play to twice pull the Gamecocks within three of the Tigers.
12/10 – Junior forward Wildens Leveque posted the first double-double of his career with 12 points, and a game high 10 rebounds vs. Princeton.  Leveque was 6-of-6 from the floor, including a pair of highlight reel dunks in the matchup.
6 – Senior guard Erik Stevenson struggled from the field vs. Princeton, but the Lacey, Wash., native made some big plays down the stretch in the contest.  He collected a career high six steals, while also pulling in eight rebounds and dishing out a game high five assists.
+9 – The Gamecocks were +9 on the boards vs. Princeton, outrebounding the Tigers 45-36.
3,018 – South Carolina’s six incoming transfer student-athletes combined to score 3,018 points during their college careers prior to joining the Gamecocks, led by Erik Stevenson’s 826 career points.  
212 – AJ Wilson saw action in 114 games during his career at George Mason.  As a junior, Wilson set GMU’s all-time record for blocks in a single season with 92, and he concluded his career as the school’s all-time record holder in the category with 212 blocks.  
87.3% – James Reese V enters action this season having hit 62 of his 71 career attempts at the foul line, 87.3 percent.  Reese was 15-of-16 (93.8%) at the line as a freshman at Buffalo, 23-of-24 (95.8%) as a junior at North Texas, and he was 24-of-31 (77.4%) at the free throw line for the Mean Green last season.

FATHER AND SON DUOS
> South Carolina head coach Frank Martin, and his son, senior forward Brandon Martin, are one of 23 father-son  coach-player duos in Division I this season.  See below for the full list (school: head coach, son):

Boise State: Leon Rice, Max Rice
UConn: Dan Hurley, Andrew Hurley
Detroit Mercy: Mike Davis, Antoine Davis
Illinois-Chicago: Luke Yaklich, Griffin Yaklich
Iowa: Fran McCaffery, Connor/Patrick McCaffery
Liberty: Ritchie McKay, Gabriel McKay
Memphis: Penny Hardaway, Jayden Hardaway
Michigan: Juwan Howard, Jace Howard
Michigan State: Tom Izzo, Steven Izzo
Milwaukee: Pat Baldwin, Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Miss. Valley State: Lindsey Hunter, Caleb Hunter
Nebraska: Fred Hoiberg, Sam Hoiberg
Oklahoma: Porter Moser, Jacob Moser
South Carolina: Frank Martin, Brandon Martin
South Carolina State: Antonio Madlock, Antonio Madlock Jr.
USC Upstate: Dave Dickerson, Dave Dickerson III
Southern: Sean Woods, DeSean Woods
Syracuse: Jim Boeheim, Buddy/Jimmy Boeheim
Texas Southern: Johnny Jones, John Jones
Utah State: Ryan Odom, Connor Odom
Western Illinois: Rob Jeter, III Rob Jeter IV
WKU: Rick Stansbury, Noah Stansbury
Wright State: Scott Nagy, TJ Nagy

COMING UP NEXT
> The Gamecocks open a three-game home stand next Thursday when UAB and head coach Andy Kennedy visit Colonial Life Arena for a 7 PM matchup.  Dave Weinstein (play-by-play) and John Williams (analyst) will have the SEC Network+ broadcast.