The South Carolina basketball team seeks to extend its winning streak.
South Carolina appears to remain on the winning streak this weekend after an 83-59 dismantling of the Georgia Bulldogs earlier this week. It was the team’s second win in the SEC game and, hopefully, it will be a stepping stone as the Gamecocks try to recover in the conference championship race.
Matchup
South Carolina Gamecocks
4-5
Vanderbilt Commodores
4-8
Saturday, January 30
8:30 pm ET
Vanderbilt will be the next task for Frank Martin’s group and will present an opportunity for South Carolina to return to 0.500 in the league game. The Commodores have lost six consecutive games and have yet to guarantee a SEC victory. They lost 78-71 in Florida their last time.
Gamecocks received a huge boost from Keyshawn Bryant, who returned from the list of COVID protocols in early January. Since his return, Bryant has been leading the conference in scoring, averaging 22 points per game match in the league. He scored double digits in each of his last four fights, including eclipsing the 20-point mark in two of those performances. He scored 19 points, the best mark in the game, in the victory over Georgia.
Bryant is not the only one doing this for Gamecocks, however. AJ Lawson and Justin Minaya have also been major contributors in recent weeks. Lawson is scoring more than 18 points per game in league action, while Minaya is just below average for a double-double in SEC clashes (8.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg).
Scoring has not been the main problem for Gamecocks lately, as they have 80 points or more in three of the last four disputes. Unfortunately, they also allowed more than 80 in three of those fights, which led to an extension of 1-3 in the past few weeks. The defense took a step forward against Georgia, keeping the Bulldogs under 60 points. They will need to maintain that kind of defensive intensity if they want to run.
South Carolina defeated the Bulldogs more than 20 times, which led to quick escapes and easy buckets. Commodores have an average of 14 turnovers per matchup, so I hope Gamecocks can play takeaway again and force Vanderbilt to make offensive mistakes.
What Gamecocks can’t do is let Vandy warm up on the outside. Commodores made 109 of their 322 three-point attempts, the fifth best mark of the conference. They shoot 34% beyond the arc, with three points representing almost 38% of their offensive output. The team lives and dies for all three.
Players to watch
Vanderbilt will depend heavily on top scorer Scotty Pippen Jr. He scored double digits in every game this year, including a season record of 32 points in his Florida loss. Pippen was reduced only once to less than 15. He also leads the team in assists (5.3 bp).
The great man Dylan Disu can also pose problems for a South Carolina team that is weak in office. Gamecocks will be without striker Alanzo Frink for the rest of the year, while Jalyn McCreary has just returned from the COVID list. If he or the Wildens Leveque center has problems at the start, it could be a long night for the Gamecock defense. Disu ranks second in the SEC in rebounds (8.5 rpg).
Series information
Gamecocks and Commodores met 58 times in hardwood, with each team winning 29 games each. South Carolina have won three of their last four matches, although the teams have split their regular season fights by 1-1.
Nashville has been a place where the Gamecocks have been fighting, losing 10 of the last 13 times when facing Vanderbilt on the road. They have lost six of their last seven fights at Memorial Gymnasium since 2010.
Prediction
Commodores struggled to play on the SEC, rising and falling in the first six action games. In three of those defeats, they stayed within 10 points, including three-point defeats against Kentucky and Mississippi State.
In the other three games, however, Vanderbilt was defeated by 19, 20 and 21 points.
We hope that the Commodores will resist well, since they usually play Gamecocks well, especially at home. But it looks like South Carolina has some momentum, and they should be able to overcome a Vanderbilt offensive that has only two consistent goal threats.
Let’s get Gamecocks to stay warm.
South Carolina Gamecocks
82
Vanderbilt Commodores
74