Gamecocks Host Georgetown Sunday Afternoon

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (5-2) looks for its fifth straight home win when it hosts Georgetown (3-3) at Colonial Life Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.  The meeting is the sixth all-time between the Gamecocks and Hoyas, and the first since the 2005 postseason.  Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network broadcast, while Derek Scott (play-by-play) and Casey Manning (analyst) will be over the air on the Gamecock Radio Network.

GAME INFORMATION
ARENA: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
BROADCAST: SEC Network
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Kevin Fitzgerald
  ANALYST: Dane Bradshaw
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network
  IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
  PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
  ANALYST: Casey Manning
  SIRIUS: – | XM: 191 | SXM APP: 962
WATCH: WatchESPN/ESPN App
LIVE STATS: GamecocksOnline.com
  SERIES: Georgetown leads, 4-1
  IN COLUMBIA: The series is tied at 1-1
  SERIES TREND: South Carolina snapped a four-game Hoya win streak in the series with a win in the last meeting
  LAST MEETING: 69-66 Gamecock win on March 24, 2005 in Columbia (Postseason NIT)

TIPOFF NOTABLES
> The Gamecocks fell 80-56 in their first true road contest of the season at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday.  CCU led for the majority of the first half, before the Gamecocks pulled to within one at halftime, however, the Chanticleers out-scored Carolina 44-21 in the second half to capture the non-conference win.
> Following Sunday’s matchup with Georgetown, Carolina will have a week-long break from game action due to final exams on campus next week.
> Looking ahead following the matchup with the Hoyas, Carolina will play two of its next three on the road.  First, a meeting with Florida State in Rock Hill on Dec. 12 in the No Room For Racism Classic, beofre a Dec. 14 home game vs. Allen, and then a Dec. 18 road contest at Clemson.
> The Gamecocks trailed for the majority of their contest with Rider at Colonial Life Arena on Nov. 28, but a 3-pointer from senior forward Keyshawn Bryant tied the contest at 36-all with 12:30 to go, and Carolina was able to maintain its lead the remainder of the game to close the 65-58 non-conference win.  
> Bryant led Carolina with 17 points in the win over the Broncs, while he also collected five rebounds, dished out two assists, collected two steals and blocked three shots, just one shy of matching his career high.
> Carolina captured a big win over visiting Wofford on Nov. 23 at Colonial Life Arena, posting an 85-74 victory over the Terriers.  Senior guard Erik Stevenson had his best performance this season, hitting nine field goals, including five 3-pointers, en route to a 25-point performance.  His six rebounds were also a team best.
> Rookie guard Devin Carter was clutch at the free throw line, hitting all four of his attempts in the final five seconds of play to clinch a 66-63 Gamecock win over visiting UAB at Colonial Life Arena on Nov. 18.  The Blazers, who are the preseason pick to win C-USA this season, battled back from a 16-point deficit to make it a one-point game with a minute remaining in the matchup, but Carter sank all four of his attempts late in the contest to secure the Carolina win.  
> Following its first loss of the season, Carolina rebounded with a 75-64 victory over Western Kentucky on Nov. 14 in its final contest at the inaugural Asheville Championship.  Junior guard Jermaine Couisnard and rookie guard Devin Carter led Carolina with 16 points each, and graduate student guard James Reese V tallied a season high 14 points behind four makes from 3-point range.  
> The Gamecocks suffered their first loss of the season on Nov. 12, 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. Princeton on Nov. 12.  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).
> 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 HOYAS
> Georgetown is led by head coach Patrick Ewing in his fifth season.  Ewing was a three-time consensus First Team All-American  (1983, 1984, 1985), leading the Hoyas to three NCAA Championship Game appearances and the 1984 National Championship title.
> The Hoyas are 3-3 this season and are coming off a 91-83 home win over Longwood.  The 93 points were a season high for the Georgetown offense.
> Sophomore guard Dante Harris paces the team with 14.2 points per game, while Aminu Mohammed (13.8), Kaiden Rice (13.7) and Donald Carey (12.3) also average double figures points.
> Rice, a Columbia native, transferred to Georgetown after a successful career at The Citadel.
> Georgetown is among nationally leaders in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 39.1 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc.  That mark is second in the Big East.
> Like South Carolina’s Erik Stevenson, Georgetown’s Donald Carey is one of just six players nationally who average at least 2.5 made free throws per game with a perfect mark at the free throw line, where Carey is a perfect 19-of-19.

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
11 – Rookie guard Jacobi Wright scored a season high 11 points in the first start of his career at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.  Wright has hit his season high in points in each of the last three contests: 4 points vs. Wofford, 6 vs. Rider and 11 vs. CCU.
18-18 – Senior guard Eric Stevenson is a perfect 18-of-18 at the free throw line this season, the only player in the SEC with at least 2.5 free throws made per game to be perfect at the line.  He is one of just six players nationally who average at least 2.5 made free throws per game with a perfect mark at the free throw line.
13.57 – South Carolina is third in the SEC with 13.57 offensive rebounds per game.  Junior forward Wildens Leveque is the top Gamecock in the category, pulling in 3.29 per game, which is tied with Florida’s Colin Castleton for second in the SEC.

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
> Following the break for final exams, South Carolina travels to Rock Hill for the No Room For Racism Classic, where it will face Florida State on Dec. 12.  That contest is set for broadcast on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) on the call.