*** USC MBB (8-10/1-4) vs. #16/17 Auburn (15-3/5-1) Game Thread ***

[kingofnerf]

South Carolina wraps up a three-game home stand on Saturday against No. 16/17 Auburn. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. (ET) with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Mark Wise (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

The Tigers have won four-straight in the series dating back to a 80-67 victory at Auburn Arena back on Jan. 22, 2020.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: 107.5 The Game

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Gamecocks Host No. 16/17 Auburn on Saturday

Carolina seeking to snap four-game losing streak to the top-25 Tigers

gamecocksonline.com

 

[kingofnerf]

An upset today would be real nice.

 

[kingofnerf]

Had to get some yard work done before the rain moved in today, so I didn't watch or listen to the game.

A 15-point loss is an improvement over a 40-point blow-out loss, I guess.

TEAM	FG%	FG	3F%	3F	FT%	FT	TO	PtTO	REB	OR	B	S	A
AUB	50%	30-60	18%	3-17	72%	18-25	9	22	35	10	4	8	20
USC	36%	20-56	25%	7-28	79%	19-24	14	5	35	12	2	6	8

We did okay shooting from the perimeter and free throws, but turnovers and points off of turnovers killed us.

GG shot a career-high 30 points, but not much help from anyone else. Meechie with 11 points and not much from the other guys.

I would say lack of structure is our bugaboo right now, just like it was for Frank at times. You can't really play free in the SEC. Coaches who are good at installing and enforcing structure will eat your lunch all day long.

So we have a new SEC coach that's learning what does and does not work in the SEC plus a team that needs to play better.

The home crowd is so used to watching Frank's teams play for their season in the last part of the regular season over the years. They will come to the games and support the kids if they get it figured out.

Time is running out, though. Those 6 OOC losses don't leave us with much of a cushion for post-season play past the SECT.

 

[FeatheredCock]

No postseason this year. The question now is can this team gather up enough for one more win till the end of the season? But anyhow got to address the talent needed for any real chance for this team to turn the program around for the 2023/2024 season.

 

[GamecockSkip]

and the story continues.

 

[doublea1971]

Had to get some yard work done before the rain moved in today, so I didn't watch or listen to the game.

A 15-point loss is an improvement over a 40-point blow-out loss, I guess.

TEAM	FG%	FG	3F%	3F	FT%	FT	TO	PtTO	REB	OR	B	S	A
AUB	50%	30-60	18%	3-17	72%	18-25	9	22	35	10	4	8	20
USC	36%	20-56	25%	7-28	79%	19-24	14	5	35	12	2	6	8

We did okay shooting from the perimeter and free throws, but turnovers and points off of turnovers killed us.

GG shot a career-high 30 points, but not much help from anyone else. Meechie with 11 points and not much from the other guys.

I would say lack of structure is our bugaboo right now, just like it was for Frank at times. You can't really play free in the SEC. Coaches who are good at installing and enforcing structure will eat your lunch all day long.

So we have a new SEC coach that's learning what does and does not work in the SEC plus a team that needs to play better.

The home crowd is so used to watching Frank's teams play for their season in the last part of the regular season over the years. They will come to the games and support the kids if they get it figured out.

Time is running out, though. Those 6 OOC losses don't leave us with much of a cushion for post-season play past the SECT.

I think what is lost on most people is that Coach Paris lost a key cog in his newly minted Gamecock men’s BB machine PRIOR TO the start of the season.

Ebrima Dibba was to have been a complement to Meechie Johnson and give us another solid scoring option. He was one of the two most intriguing pieces to me coming into the year (the other being Hayden Brown).

I don’t believe Coach Paris is figuring out the league, so much as trying to get by with only three real options (Johnson, Jackson and Brown) and then add on parts to fill gaps.

I don’t hate on the other guys b/c, they’re all good kids. But what you now can see is that we have solid play from one of the two Freshmen recruits (Davis), and beyond Davis there’s not much more which has developed. Hankins-Sanford WILL be a great player once he grows into his body a bit. He’s got the frame to be a stud, but hadn’t quite learned the body control yet. Carter and Wright are giving what they can, and BBV and Gray are well… who knows what’s going on there. But the point is there is simply no depth to give Coach Paris something to draw on. Meechie, Brown and GG are what we have to work with. It’s a .500 finish at best.

Next year, hopefully a few good portal or grad transfer players, with some Frank Martin-style “you’ll find a good home with someone else” shuffling of the deck as well. It’s going to take a few years, but Coach Paris has shown me he’s not another coach like “the man who shall not be named” (DH - with my requisite “UGH” that follows even thinking about him). Rather Paris has the tool belt to recruit AND to get HIS guys. Hopefully a few in-stater surprises in the next two years (similar to a GG Jackson), and we’ll be G2G.

 

[Garnetandglad]

I think what is lost on most people is that Coach Paris lost a key cog in his newly minted Gamecock men’s BB machine PRIOR TO the start of the season.

Ebrima Dibba was to have been a complement to Meechie Johnson and give us another solid scoring option. He was one of the two most intriguing pieces to me coming into the year (the other being Hayden Brown).

I don’t believe Coach Paris is figuring out the league, so much as trying to get by with only three real options (Johnson, Jackson and Brown) and then add on parts to fill gaps.

I don’t hate on the other guys b/c, they’re all good kids. But what you now can see is that we have solid play from one of the two Freshmen recruits (Davis), and beyond Davis there’s not much more which has developed. Hankins-Sanford WILL be a great player once he grows into his body a bit. He’s got the frame to be a stud, but hadn’t quite learned the body control yet. Carter and Wright are giving what they can, and BBV and Gray are well… who knows what’s going on there. But the point is there is simply no depth to give Coach Paris something to draw on. Meechie, Brown and GG are what we have to work with. It’s a .500 finish at best.

Next year, hopefully a few good portal or grad transfer players, with some Frank Martin-style “you’ll find a good home with someone else” shuffling of the deck as well. It’s going to take a few years, but Coach Paris has shown me he’s not another coach like “the man who shall not be named” (DH - with my requisite “UGH” that follows even thinking about him). Rather Paris has the tool belt to recruit AND to get HIS guys. Hopefully a few in-stater surprises in the next two years (similar to a GG Jackson), and we’ll be G2G.

I like Paris, too. This year is not fun, but, if he can get his guys in, I believe he can move us in the right direction.