South Carolina is back at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm featuring Missouri’s No. 20.
Gamecocks (5-10, 3-8) will attempt to break a four-game losing streak by sharing the regular season series with Tigers (13-6, 6-6). The two teams met on January 19 in Columbia, Missouri, 81-70 to secure Missouri’s victory. The Gamecocks have won their last three home games against the Tigers.
GAME INFORMATION
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Streaming: ESPN2
Game by game: Karl Ravech
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
In columbia: 107.5 The Game
Game by game: Derek Scott
Analyst: Casey Manning
Sirius: – | XM: 192 | Internet: 963
Watch: App WatchESPN / ESPN
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Series: Mizzou leads 7-6
In Columbia, SC: Carolina leads 4-2
Series Trend: Teams have exchanged wins and losses since the 2016 SEC regular season
Last meeting: 81-70 Mizzou wins on January 19, 2021, in Columbia, Missouri.
GAMECOCK NOTES
– Carolina suffered a 93-73 defeat at No. 19 in Tennessee in midweek action on Wednesday. Junior guard AJ Lawson posted his eighth 20-point performance in the SEC game with a 20-point team, and Keyshawn Bryant and TJ Moss added 15 each, but the Vols hit 54.2 percent on the field, and were fed by a 29-point effort by Victor Bailey Jr. in the home win.
– Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said guard Jermaine Couisnard (left ankle) “would be shocked” if he could play on Saturday. This would be Couisnard’s second consecutive game lost after leaving the first half of last Saturday’s defeat against Ole Miss. Junior striker Justin Minaya (head) also missed the Tennessee game for taking a hit on the Ole Miss game. Minaya was able to do some on the court on Thursday, would try to raise on Friday and pass the concussion protocol so that he would get the thumbs up to play against Missouri.
– Lawson is averaging 3.07 has scored three points per game this season, which leads the SEC and is 17th nationally. Lawson is now ninth in Carolina’s history with 151 goals scored from three points in his career and he is 38th of all time with 1,074 career points.
– Gamecocks are leading the SEC and occupying the ninth position nationally with 13.87 offensive rebounds per game this season. Carolina had a season 23 record in the offensive glass in the win against Georgia (January 27).
– Four will be honored on Senior Day on Saturday at managers Luke Colwell and Ryan Prendergast, senior guard Seventh Woods and striker Nathan Nelson. The Senior Citizens Day festivities will begin approximately 15 minutes before delivery to the central court.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
– Missouri was ranked nationally for most of the season, entering Saturday’s action in 20th place in the AP vote and 19th in the coaches vote. The Tigers are led by coach Cuonzo Martin in his fourth season.
– Mizzou holds an overall record of 13-6 and a 6-6 mark in SEC games. The Tigers lost three consecutive matches, including an 80-70 loss in Georgia earlier this week.
– Guards Xaiver Pinson (14.5 ppg) and Dru Smith (13.9) are the Tigers’ two top scorers, but Jeremiah Tilmon has 12.8 points and a 7.8 rebound high per game, and Mark Smith is out from the double-digit average at 9.8 points per game. Tilmon’s six doubles in the year are the best of the conference, and Dru Smith’s 1.79 steals per game are second in the SEC.
Cuonzo Martin said Jeremiah Tilmon has returned to the team and expects him to play tomorrow in South Carolina.
– Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) February 19, 2021
QUOTES
– “Our transition defense (against Tennessee) was embarrassingly bad. We continue to plead with our people. Whenever we shoot to a certain place on the ground and when the ball leaves the edge or enters the net, one is responsible for stopping the ball and no one is behind our head. We would never get someone else to do that part. We continued to give up dunking and lay-ups on the open court. We showed that to the players (on Thursday). If we could eliminate half of those moves, we would be in a game of possession to win or lose in the last few minutes. We are giving up on some great runs and stopping the bleeding is the hardest thing to get this team to do. “- Martin in his team’s struggles