Gamecocks Host Charleston Southern on Black Friday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (4-2) seeks to get back on track with a Black Friday matchup against Charleston Southern (5-3) tomorrow. Tip is set for 4 p.m. (ET) with Colonial Life Arena doors opening 1 hour prior.

Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

The Gamecocks will look to snap a two-game skid after a pair of tight losses at the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off last weekend against Butler (Nov. 21) and Northwestern (Nov. 23). Carolina battled back from double-digit deficits in the second half in both games to give itself a chance despite not shooting the ball great overall at Colonial Hall ballroom. The Gamecocks were just 28.3% (17-of-60) in their two games. Meechie Johnson led all scorers with 24 points against Butler. Elijah Strong led the team with 16 points off the bench vs. Northwestern.

The Buccaneers come into Friday’s game riding a three-game win streak. CSU picked up a big true road win at East Carolina on Nov. 21, defeating the Pirates 77-65 on their home floor. Brycen Blaine is the teams leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 23.4 points (6^th in the nation) and 8.6 rebounds per game.  He’s the nation’s leading scorer with 187 total points. His 42 points vs. The Citadel back on Nov. 10 are tied with Jordan Ellerbee (FGCU) and Dior Johnson (Tarleton State) for the most single-game points in NCAA Division I this season.

CSU ranks No. 3 in the nation in 3-point attempts per game at 36.3. They rank No. 2 nationally in 3-pointers per game averaging 13.6 triples per contest.

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 4 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Colonial Life Arena
TV: SEC Network+
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Dave Weinstein
    ANALYST: John Williams
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network 
IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
    ANALYST: Casey Manning
SIRIUSXM: 390 | SXM APP: 980
WATCH: espn.com/watch/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
SERIES: Gamecocks lead, 8-1
IN COLUMBIA: same
SERIES TREND: The Gamecocks average margin of victory in the eight wins is 25.3 points.
LAST MEETING: 73-69 Gamecock win on Dec. 16, 2023. BJ Mack had 16 and Meechie Johnson had 15 points as Carolina pulled away late to defeat the Buccaneers.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
12-1 – The Gamecocks have an 12-1 record under Lamont Paris when shooting 50.0% or higher. The lone loss came in his 1st season in 2022-23 at Missouri.
16-0 – The Gamecocks are 16-0 record under Paris when scoring 80 or more points.
42-9 – The Gamecocks are 42-9 in four seasons under Paris when holding teams below 70 points (.824 win %).
442 – Johnson (199) and Stute (243) have combined to make 442 3s in their college careers. Stute’s 243 career 3s are 13th amongst active career leaders in Division I. Johnson’s 199 3s rank T-38th.
1,000 – Stute recently scored his 1,000th career point with a 3-pointer early in the game vs. Radford (Nov. 18).
467 – Stute (137), Johnson (122), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (105) and Kobe Knox (103) have combined to play 467 games at the NCAA Division I level bringing a wealth of experience to the Gamecocks’ backcourt. Stute (5th) and Johnson T-24th) both rank inside the top-25 on the active games played list in Division I. 
25 – Johnson became the 25th different player for South Carolina since the 2004-05 season to record a 30-point game. He, Brenton Williams (2014) and Devan Downey (2009) are the only Gamecocks to have a 30-point game with seven or more made 3s.
43 – Johnson became the 43rd player in the SEC to hit seven or more 3s in a game over the last five seasons. Stute is also on that list, making seven 3s twice while at Vanderbilt in games at Temple (11/15/22) and at Texas A&M (1/28/23).
3 – Grant Polk joined Justin Edwards (Kentucky in 2024) and Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee in 2021) as just the 3^rd SEC freshman over the last five seasons to record a game with four or more made 3s and no misses. Polk was 4-for-4 from behind the arc in a win over PC on Nov. 12.
2 – Hayden Assemian became the 2^nd Gamecock freshman over the last seven seasons, joining Collin-Murray Boyles (2024 vs. Vanderbilt), to record a game with six or more offensive rebounds.Assemian had a team-high eight rebounds in a win over PC on Nov. 12, six coming on the offensive glass.
7-0 – Carolina was 7-0 last season when holding its opponents below 40.0% shooting from the floor.
6-0  – The Gamecocks are 6-0 all-time under Paris when the team shoots 50.0 percent or higher from behind the arc.
7-0 – The team is also 7-0 all-time (2-0 this season) under Paris when dishing out 20 or more assists.  Five of those six games came in the historic 2023-24 season with a high of 25 helpers in the win at Georgia on Feb. 3, 2024. Carolina dished out 24 assists on 31 made field goals in the 91-72, season-opening win against NC A&T (Nov. 4).
62 – Carolina has hit 62 3s (10.3 3FG per game) in the first six games of the season with a combined 33 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the six ball games (average of 5.5 different players hitting a 3FG per game).
9-0 – The Gamecocks are 9-0 under Paris when the team makes 30 or more FGs. Carolina made 34 field goals (team high in the Paris era), shooting 57.6% (another team high in the Paris era) in an 87-58 victory over Radford on Nov. 18.
34 – The team made 34 free throws in an 84-69 win over Texas on Feb. 22 last season, the most in the Lamont Paris era at Carolina. The last time the Gamecocks hit 30 or more free throws in a game was 35 made foul shots in the four OT thriller against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.
10 – Paris has been a part of 10 NCAA Tournament teams as a Division I assistant/head coach with his first appearance at South Carolina coming last season.
18 – He has been a part of 18, 20-win seasons as a college head and assistant coach.
.696 – In his 17 seasons as a collegiate assistant coach, teams associated with Paris were 497-217 (.696) with five conference titles and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching two Final Fours.
274 – The Gamecocks made 274 3s during the 2023-24 campaign, a new single-season program record.
344 – The team had just 344 turnovers in the 2023-24 season, the third-fewest all-time for a single season at Carolina.
8-3 – The Gamecocks were 8-3 in true road games during the 2023-24 season. The team won seven SEC games on the road, tying the 1996-97 SEC Champion squad for the most league road wins in program history since joining the SEC in 1991-92.
25 – Carolina held 25 opponents to less than 70 points in 2023-24, which T-4th nationally and led the SEC.
8-0 – The Gamecocks were 8-0 in 2023-24 when shooting 50.0% or better from the floor.
1998 – The team finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 25 in the final AP Poll, marking the first time the Gamecocks were ranked in the final top-25 poll since being slotted No. 14 in the final AP Poll of 1998.
1997 – The Gamecocks picked up the program’s first top-five road win since 1997 on Jan. 30, 2024 with a 63-59 victory over No. 5/5 Tennessee. The previous top-five road win was a 72-66 win at No. 3 Kentucky on March 2, 1997. The 59 points scored by Tennessee were a season-low for the Vols. It was also the first home loss of the season for UT, snapping a 13-game home winning streak by the Vols at Thompson-Boling Arena.

UP NEXT
South Carolina remains home as it welcomes in Virginia Tech (6-0) for the ACC/SEC Challenge. It’ll be the third-straight season the Gamecocks and Hokies have met (SC 2-0 with both meetings on a neutral floor). Anish Shroff (pxp) and Chris Spatola (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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