After a series of difficult games, many teams are about to make a trap game. Usually against a team that they don’t see coming and that gets them out of the rhythm. Tonight, the South Carolina Gamecocks hoped to be that team. Fortunately, Eric Musselman had his team scored and ready to go, and they crossed for a victory at Columbia, 101-73.
Even without freshman Jaylin Williams, the Hogs dominated for 40 minutes. This is the Hogs’ tenth consecutive SEC victory, the first time since the 1994 season, when they won the NCAA Tournament.
Pigs get hot early
A big problem for the team this year has been the lack of ability to start strong and fast, but the Hogs have handled this problem very well along the straight. Tonight was no different, with Hogs scoring 49 points before the break, with many goals beyond the three-point line. Freshman phenomenon Moses Moody, who many predict will be chosen from the top 10, dropped 28 points in 10-15 shots, including 4-9 from the 3-point line.
The rest of the team did the same, throwing a solid 55% of the field and 45% beyond the line. In the first half, the Hogs hit 10 trios and kept South Carolina in any race to close the gap, having led by 17 at the break.
Bench players play an important role
A great piece that Razorback fans were waiting to click on was Desi Sills. Sills suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the season and has struggled to find time on the ground since returning. He came out strong tonight, finishing with 15 points from 5 to 8 shots, all of those marks from outside the arc.
JD Notae has also grown strong in recent weeks and has been a dominant force both offensive and defensively. He hit the shots when they needed it most and finished with 21 points in 9-16 shots to go along with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. He was everywhere tonight and recently appeared strong for the Pigs.
The tale of the ribbon
South Carolina kept the game going for the first few minutes, but failed to keep up with Hogs’ effort to score tonight. Around the 10-minute mark in the first half, the Hogs started to pull away, and they made a 12-4 run to take the lead to double digits.
Coach Musselman’s squad did not look back, as they played under strong and offensive control defensively. They seemed to turn the ball at a higher rate, it seemed, ending the game with 15 spins, but they forced 14 spins, which helped the Hogs to keep the game a secret without any drama.
Where are we going from here?
For the Hogs, they hope to continue the good run at the end of the series against Texas A&M on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena. The Aggies did not play for the entire month of February, and this will be the second game after taking on the State of Mississippi on Wednesday. The Aggies are 8-7 overall this season and 2-6 in the SEC. This game will end at 4pm in Fayetteville.
After tonight’s defeat, South Carolina will try to recover in Lexington against the Kentucky Wildcats. Gamecocks drop to 6-13 a year and hope to save part of their season plagued by COVID. The game against Kentucky will start at 11 am at the Rupp Arena.