Frank Martin is unabashedly stubborn but likes to say he’s not stubborn to the point he’s stupid; when he sees something isn’t necessarily working on the court, he understands when to tweak something.

So after the Gamecocks gave up 109 points to Auburn, the first time allowing over 100 points since 1993, Martin went home knowing changes to the Gamecock defense needed to happen.

“I don’t have to watch the film. I never watched that film. Guess what? I didn’t watch Georgia until yesterday. I had to figure out how to do my job better. The players have to play better,” Martin said.

“The players have to be more committed to what we’re doing, but obviously I had to make some adjustments for this team in this moment. I did. The players bought into it. I hope it keeps working for us because I really, really enjoyed the way we played today.”

So, as the Gamecocks returned to practice Monday Martin had scrapped almost the entire defensive system and spent the next two days of practice installing new rules and new calls before hosting Georgia.

At least for one game it worked.

They looked different defensively—keeping the defense simple, not extending and changing their calls on ball screen defense—while mixing in more zone to their patented man-to-man defense while turning in their best defensive performance since SEC play started.

“We’re basically trusting the bigs behind us and the second line of defense if you’re guarding the ball. It’s trusting each other more than yourself if you’re guarding the ball,” Trae Hannibal said. “Ball screen wise it’s basically the same but some adjustments we’ve made with the back line and second defenders.”

Georgia, which was averaging 76.6 points in its first five league games, scored just 59 points and was held to just 82 points per 100 possessions.

“Where we didn’t extend our man to man out the way we usually do. We were not trying to deny. We played a little more conservative,” Martin said. “The guys were real good. We made some mistakes on rotations but that’s going to happen when you put something in brand new in less than 48 hours.”

The Gamecocks (4-5, 2-3 SEC) desperately needed a game like that against Georgia after reeling off a few tough defensive performances where they allowed over 109 points per 100 possessions in three straight games.

Keeping it simple worked against Georgia and South Carolina is hopeful they can build on something like this moving forward.

“We were going through something new and get us to trust each other as a whole,” Keyshawn Bryant said. “It worked out pretty good and gained trust in one another. That’s a plus of playing the defense we played tonight.”

The next test is against Vanderbilt, which is winless in six SEC games but is middle of the pack in offensive efficiency.

That’s in large part because of point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and center Dylan Disu, who will be a tough test for the Gamecocks and their revamped defense.

Pippen, who shot 16 free throws in last season’s finale against South Carolina, is currently third in the SEC in fouls draw per 40 minutes and top 15 in free throw rate.

“I have to give him his props. He’s a good player. He’s improved a lot,” Hannbial said of Pippen. “It’s just another game and another tough point guard we have to face. We have to stick to our defensive scheme and work as best we can as a team to win."