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Gamecocks confident heading into litmus test against Houston

Dotting the wall of Frank Martin’s office are basketballs from every win over a top 25 win from his time at South Carolina.

As he sits there on Wednesday, his eyes glancing up to the wall doing some quick math, there are close to 15 basketballs with the chance Saturday to add one more against No. 10 Houston.

Photo by Chris Gillespie
Photo by Chris Gillespie
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“I mean, it’s a great opportunity. This is why you play college basketball, to go up against a top-10 team. It’s why I came to school here to play some of the best teams in the country. That’s what you’re excited about,” Justin Minaya said. “We’re a pretty good team as well and we’ll be ready for Saturday for sure.”

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The Gamecocks (1-1) hit the road for a Saturday game against the Cougars, who come into the match up a top 10 team.

Dating back to last season the Gamecocks are 2-0 against top 10 teams with wins at Virginia and then home against Kentucky.

Like those two, Saturday’s game will be a tough test and the Cougars are one of the best teams in the country this year.

The preseason pick to win the American Conference, Houston is a perfect 3-0 this year with wins over Lamar, Boise State and No. 17 Texas Tech, all by double digits.

This will be a good early test for South Carolina to gauge how it stacks up against a veteran, guard heavy team and something the Gamecocks aren’t backing down from.

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“I feel like we’re going into the game and it’s going to be a challenge. I feel like we can go in there and surprise everybody,” Jalyn McCreary said. “If we go in there and do the things we’re supposed to do and do what coach asks I feel like it’s going to be a very good game and we’ll have a chance to win and knock off a ranked team.”

The Gamecocks are eerily similar to Houston with the team’s average height separated by less than an inch; South Carolina’s is 77.6 inches compared to Houston’s 77.6.

South Carolina’s minutes continuity (71.1) is higher than Houston’s (54.5) but the team’s experience is essentially the same as well with the Gamecocks’ average experience 1.65 years compared to Houston’s 1.72 years.

“We have a pretty good team this year. I feel like we’re going to have a lot of confidence going into this game. Both teams are physical. They’re physical and we’re physical. They like to rebound and I feel like we can rebound it really well too,” McCreary said. “It should be a good game with two physical teams going head to head. I feel like we’re going to be ready for this Saturday coming up.”

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Since Frank Martin took over the Gamecocks are 14-23 against Top 25 teams, and 7-11 since the Final Four year.

Over the last three seasons the Gamecocks are 3-5 against top 10 teams as well, but Martin knows a win or a loss Saturday won’t define this team’s season.

“We get out of bed out of day with a confidence that what we do works. You take it one day at a time,” Martin said. “Whether we have success or not from a winning perspective is not going to determine who we are in March. That’s one step toward becoming the best team we can.”

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