South Carolina (6-13, 4-11 SEC) travels to face Kentucky (8-15, 7-9 SEC) on Saturday at the end of the regular season for both schools.
The showdown is scheduled for ET noon, and Karl Ravech (play by play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) will be called up for the ESPN broadcast, while Derek Scott (play by play) and Casey Manning (analyst) will have the call over the air on the Gamecock Radio Network.
TIPOFF NOTABLES
> South Carolina travels to face Kentucky at the end of the regular season for both schools on Saturday at the Rupp Arena. Gamecocks have won two of their last three games against the Wildcats, but expect their first Rupp victory since 2009.
> The Gamecocks suffered a 101-73 loss to No. 12 Arkansas in the home final on Tuesday at the Colonial Life Arena. The Razorbacks hit 55.2 percent (37-67) on the field, and had three 20+ points led by freshman guard Moses Moody’s 28. Junior guard AJ Lawson led Gamecocks with 18 points, connecting in four attempts to reach 3 points.
> South Carolina broke its six-game losing streak with a 91-70 victory in Georgia last Saturday, marking Gamecock’s tenth consecutive victory over the Bulldogs, and Carolina’s fifth consecutive victory in Athens. Four Gamecocks were in double digits, led by the second-year guard. Jermaine Couisnard’s high season 23.
> Second year guard Trae Hannibal continued his hot streak on the offensive side. The Hartsville native, SC, had 6 of 8 field shots at UGA, en route to equaling his 15-point career record. He also gave a record of five assists for the team, hit a record of eight rebounds and received a record of four steals in Carolina’s victory.
> Beginner forward Tre-Vaughn Minott won the first start of his career last Saturday in Georgia. The Montreal native started the game with a 3 of 3 on the floor and ended with a season record of six points and three rebounds in Carolina’s victory.
> Gamecocks suffered a 69-48 loss on the Mississippi state road on February 23. Carolina reached the season low of 29.0% in the field and 19.0% in the 3-point range, in the loss. Junior forward Keyshawn Bryant’s 14 points scored a high team, and TJ Moss distributed the team’s four best assists.
> Junior Guard AJ Lawson poured in another 20-point performance with a game of 22, and second-year guard Trae Hannibal and junior forward Keyshawn Bryant each added 15, but the Gamecocks suffered a 93-78 loss to No. 20/19 Missouri at the Colonial Life Arena (February 20). Tigers hit 57.6 percent on the pitch and had a 16-point lead in the interval in victory.
> Hannibal was a perfect 6 of 6 on the floor, with a pair of 3s and also a 1-1 mark on the free-throw line against the Tigers.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
> Kentucky has 8-15 overall this season and 7-9 in SEC competitions.
> Coach John Calipari is in his 12th season leading the Wildcats.
> In home games this season, the UK is 4-6, including a 3-4 mark in SEC home games.
> Five double-digit midpoints for the United Kingdom, led by 11.6 points per game by Brandon Boston Jr. Mintz (11.0), Clarke (10.7), Brooks Jr. (10.6) and Sarr ( 10.5) also have a two-digit average.
> Brooks Jr. leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game.
> As a team, the UK leads the country in blocked shots per game, with 6.1 points per game.
> Isaiah Jackson takes the team’s step with 2.70 blocks per game, which is one of the best at the SEC and is in 12th place nationally.
> Wildcats are fourth in the SEC and 41 in the country, with 12.04 offensive rebounds per game.
OFFAL
> Some random notes and factoids …
– Four Gamecocks have at least 120 career assists, led by Seventh woods with 175, AJ Lawson (167), then Jermaine Couisnard (149) and Justin Minaya (132)
– Lawson has 17 games with double-digit scores this season with 10 of those 20+
– Before her dispute with the State of Mississippi, in her three previous games, Carolina scored at least 31 field goals in each, with a season record of 33 in the home win against Georgia (January 27)
– Among the SEC’s active career leaders, Lawson is third in scoring (1,135) and fifth in stealing (98)
MINAYA STRONG IN GLASS
> R-junior advanced Justin Minaya takes a step into Gamecocks with 6.6 rebounds per contest, which is +1.2 rebounds per game above his career average. He has three doubles in the year, and also wins the Gamecocks with 2.67 offensive rebounds per game, fifth in the SEC and 81st nationally.
> In strictly SEC games, the 6.5 Minaya boards per game are the ninth in the conference. He has two doubles in league games and managed to get 11 rebounds, the best of the season, in 19th place for Mizzou (19 January).
BY NUMBERS
33.9 – The South Carolina pair of AJ Lawson (18.1) and Keyshawn Bryant (15.8) add an average of 33.9 points per SEC game this season, which is the third tandem ranked in the league game behind LSU’s Cameron Thomas and Trendon Watford (38.5) and Scotty Pippen Jr. and Dylan Disu from Vanderbilt (36.3).
3.3 – Junior guard AJ Lawson made several 3s in 13 SEC contests this season, and made three or more in 11 of them. He leads the SEC in league games with 3.3 made 3s per match.
16.84 – Gamecocks are forcing 16.84 opponents’ turnovers per game (games in general), which is the SEC’s best, and 12th nationally.
15 – South Carolina’s 15 steals in victory in Georgia marked the first time the Gamecocks had 15 steals in a game since the 89-79 victory over Vanderbilt in Columbia on January 16, 2010, when Carolina also there were 15.
GAMECOCKS ADD TRE-VAUGHN MINOTT
> Tre-Vaughn Minott, a freshman center in Montreal, has joined Gamecocks and is immediately eligible for the competition. Minott has been with the NBA Academy Latin America since September 2019. During his time at the Academy, his team competed at the National Prep School Invitational in Rhode Island and the Skill Factory Tournament of Champions in Atlanta in 2020.