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GAMEDAY THREAD 7 PM TIP-OFF: Gamecocks Host USC Upstate In Season Opener

FeatheredCock

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Gamecocks Host USC Upstate In Season Opener

Nov. 09, 2021





Men's Basketball | 11/8/2021 6:26:00 PM



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COLUMBIA, S.C. -[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]South Carolina opens the 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday when it hosts USC Upstate in the season lidlifter for both schools at 7 p.m. ET at Colonial Life Arena.  The meeting is the first between the intrastate opponents since the 2018-19 season opener, a 65-52 Gamecock win at Colonial Life Arena.

GAME INFORMATION
ARENA:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Colonial Life Arena (18,00)
BROADCAST:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]SEC Network+
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]PLAY-BY-PLAY:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Dave Weinstein
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]ANALYST:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]John Williams
RADIO:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Gamecock Radio Network
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]IN COLUMBIA:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]1320 AM (pregame)/107.5 The Game (in progress following women's game)
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]PLAY-BY-PLAY:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Derek Scott
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]ANALYST:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Casey Manning
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]SIRIUS:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]- | XM[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]: 391 | [/COLOR]SXM APP:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]981
WATCH:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]WatchESPN/ESPN App
LIVE STATS[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]: GamecocksOnline.com[/COLOR]
  SERIES:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Gamecocks lead 4-1
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]IN COLUMBIA:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]Carolina leads 4-1
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]SERIES TREND:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]The teams have split the last two meetings
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]  [/COLOR]LAST MEETING:[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]65-52 Carolina win on Nov. 6, 2018, in Columbia
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TIPOFF NOTABLES
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> South Carolina opens the 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday when it hosts USC Upstate in the season lidlifter for both schools.  The meeting is the first between the intrastate opponents since the 2018-19 season opener, a 65-52 Gamecock win at Colonial Life Arena.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> The Gamecocks are 83-30 all-time in season openers and they look to rebound after suffering a 78-62 loss to Liberty in last season's opener at the Hall of Fame Classic event in Kansas City.  [/COLOR]Frank Martin[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]is 13-1 in season lidlifters during his career as a head coach (5-0 at Kansas State, 8-1 at Carolina).
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Head coach [/COLOR]Frank Martin[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]is in his 10th season leading the Gamecocks.  He is assisted by associate head coach Chuck Martin[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](fifth season), assistant coaches Will Bailey[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](second season) and Brian Steele[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](first season), and the director of operations is Andy Assaley[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](10th season). 
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> South Carolina posted a 101-76 exhibition win vs. Benedict on Nov. 4.  [/COLOR]James Reese V[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]led all scorers with 21 in the contest.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> The 2021-22 campaign is the 20th season of basketball at Colonial Life Arena.  The facility opened just prior to the 2002-03 campaign.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> South Carolina returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, including senior forward [/COLOR]Keyshawn Bryant[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](14.4 ppg), junior guard Jermaine Couisnard[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](10.1 ppg) and junior forward Wildens Leveque[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](6.1 ppg).
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Junior guard [/COLOR]Jermaine Couisnard[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]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.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> The Gamecocks welcome nine newcomers to the team this season, including a trio of freshmen in [/COLOR]Devin Carter[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)], [/COLOR]Ta'Quan Woodley[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]and Jacobi Wright[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)].  Six transfers are also set for their first season at Carolina in [/COLOR]Chico Carter Jr.[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](Murray State), Josh Gray[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](LSU), Brandon Martin[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](USC Upstate), James Reese V[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](North Texas), Erik Stevenson[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](Washington) and AJ Wilson[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR](George Mason).
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Head coach Dave Dickerson is in his fourth season leading USC Upstate.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Dalvin White is the Spartans' top returning scorer and assist maker, after averaging 9.3 points and 3.0 assists per game last season.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Bryson Mozone is the top returning rebounder after collecting 3.7 rebounds per game last season.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> USC Upstate was 5-18 last season, with all five wins coming in conference play.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]
EXHIBITION RECAP
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> South Carolina posted a 101-76 win over Benedict Nov. 4 at Colonial Life Arena in exhibition action.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Gamecock guard [/COLOR]James Reese V[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]led all scorers with 21 points, behind nine made field goals, including a trio of 3s in the contest.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Senior guard [/COLOR]Erik Stevenson[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]added 14, connecting on a game high four makes from 3-point range. Rookie guard Devin Carter[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]added 13, and sophomore forward Josh Gray[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]scored 10.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Gray was dominant on the boards, collecting 12 rebounds including four on the offensive glass.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> Returning junior forward [/COLOR]Wildens Leveque[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]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.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> 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.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]
NUMBERS OF NOTE
3,018 [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]- South Carolina's six incoming transfer student-athletes have combined to score 3,018 points during their college careers, led by [/COLOR]Erik Stevenson's[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]826 career points. 
212 [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]- [/COLOR]AJ Wilson[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]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% [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]- [/COLOR]James Reese V[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]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.
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)] [/COLOR]
UP NEXT
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]> South Carolina travels to Asheville for weekend action in the Asheville Championship.  Carolina will face Princeton on Friday evening in a 9:30 PM contest, before facing either Western Kentucky or Minnesota on Sunday.  Mark Neely (pxp) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) will have the weekend call on the ESPN family of networks.[/COLOR]

 
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Gamecocks lead 18-17 midway through the 1st half over USC Upstate. While that may not seem impressive, the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 scoring run to get to 18-17. So hopefully this means they are getting heated up offensively.....

 
Gamecocks take a 43-34 lead into the halftime break. At one point, the USC-Upstate Spartans led 17-8, then the Gamecocks found their footing and out-scored the Spartans 35-17 the rest of the way. One thing that should have Coach Frank Martin pleased is team rebounding - the Gamecocks lead in the rebounding battle 28-17.

James Reese leads the Gamecocks with 9 pts on 4-8 shooting, with 2 steals. Jermaine Couisnard scored 8 pts on 2-7 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ta'Quan Woodley added 6 pts on 3-4 shooting, with 4 boards and a steal. Josh Gray chipped in with 6 pts on 3-5 shooting, and 5 rebounds....

The Gamecocks only had 7 fouls for the 1st half, compared to 10 for the Spartans. USC forced the Spartans into 14 1st-half turnovers (to only 8 of their own) and had 6 steals, which helped account for the Gamecocks taking 20 more shot attempts (47) than the Spartans (27)...

 
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Compared to last year what you see, like etc? I know we are just 1 game into the season.

 
Gamecocks win 78-60. Jermaine Couisnard and Wildens Leveque lead the way with 14 pts each. Couisnard on 5-12 shooting, with 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Leveque on 4-8 shooting, with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Reese added 9 pts on 4-9 shooting, with 2 steals. Erik Stevenson also scored 9 pts on 3-13 shooting (1-7 from the 3-pt arc), with 6 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Josh Gray added 8 pts on 4-7 shooting, with 8 rebounds and 1 steal, and Ta'Quan Woodley also scored 8 pts on 4-5 shooting, with 5 boards and 1 steal. Ja'Von Benson chipped in 8 rebounds, with 2 pts on 1-4 shooting, and 1 block.

 
FeatheredCock said:
Compared to last year what you see, like etc? I know we are just 1 game into the season.
Click to expand...


I like the team rebounding, and initially it appears we have more offensive contributors. Remember that Bryant will be missed while he's out - he was our leading scorer and a big rebounder for us last season, so we were without his contributions in tonight's game.

Our perimeter defense needs to improve - Upstate was 7-18 (.389) from the three tonight, compared to 14-34 (.412), which kept them in the game. But we cut them down to 2-9 (.222) from the arc after halftime. Overall both teams shot around the same from the field, around 40% for the game. We out-rebounded Upstate 52-34 so that was a good sign, if we can keep the rebounding up. And we got solid rebounding from 5-6 players instead of just from 2-3, with a strong rebounder in Bryant out for the game. If that can continue then that's a big positive from last season....

 
ConwayGamecock said:
Gamecocks win 78-60. Jermaine Couisnard and Wildens Leveque lead the way with 14 pts each. Couisnard on 5-12 shooting, with 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Leveque on 4-8 shooting, with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Reese added 9 pts on 4-9 shooting, with 2 steals. Erik Stevenson also scored 9 pts on 3-13 shooting (1-7 from the 3-pt arc), with 6 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Josh Gray added 8 pts on 4-7 shooting, with 8 rebounds and 1 steal, and Ta'Quan Woodley also scored 8 pts on 4-5 shooting, with 5 boards and 1 steal. Ja'Von Benson chipped in 8 rebounds, with 2 pts on 1-4 shooting, and 1 block.
Click to expand...
I thought our shooting was terrible but hopefully it was an anomaly as several of the transfers have proven to be scorers.

 
Leveque looks much improved compared to last year. You can tell that Gray has a lot of talent. I think it's just a matter of him putting it all together and getting comfortable. I like both of those guys anchoring the post.

Give Woodley a year or two in a S&C program and he's going to be a force. He's got a lot to learn, especially defensively, but a pretty good debut for him.

Stevenson and Devin Carter had rough nights shooting it, but I think both of them are better shooters than they showed tonight. I think Carter has the potential to develop into an all-SEC caliber player.

 
This team passes the eyeball test....Could be a really good year like Frank has indicated.

 
Personally, I thought that this "new look" Gamecocks squad played well above where I thought they would be at this point.  While (as noted in the thread above) Stevenson and Carter did not shoot as well as they are known for, and Josh Gray and Wildens Leveque were not as good as they could potentially be in shooting, overall it was a good night for the team and showcased a lot of depth and ability.

Biggest surprises of the evening for me?  Ta'Quan Woodley and Ja'Von Benson.  Woodley was a monster, and didn't seem to be able to miss.  Benson was a defensive machine (forcing turnovers, and getting his hands on the ball a LOT), and made the most of his minutes.  Given that the team was missing Keyshawn, I thought that those two played some outstanding ball and may provide the same spark Key does, but in a very different manner.

Overall, I like the depth of this team, more than any other I've seen in the last 2-3 years.  We have depth in the bigs room like I cannot remember before.  Once we get the guard play going (beyond the obvious starter in Cousinard), and get Erik Stevenson hitting on all cylinders from outside, I think that these 'Cocks will be a force to recon with against every single SEC opponent.

Not ready to crown this team an NCAA contender yet, but the depth and talent is there to make a pretty good run in conference this year.

 
I like to go to a game and thumb through the program as the new players each season do good things.  Otherwise, I don't really notice them that much.

Frank didn't seem too happy in the PG presser, but I take that as a good sign.

The early games seem more like basic skills evaluation periods for him.

I believe in his system and like to watch the lock-down defense in the second half while other team is clanking off the rim from the perimeter.

Still have to make a decision on season tickets very soon.

 
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