If there was one two-second spurt to sum up South Carolina in league play this season, it came with just under nine minutes to play Tuesday.
The Gamecocks just chipped a Tennessee lead to 12 and forced a miss, hauling in a rebound with a chance to cut the deficit to single digits and make things interesting over the final few minutes.
The ensuing offensive possession ended in a Keyshawn Bryant turnover and two seconds later Chico Carter Jr. fouled in transition, a microcosm of the last three games for a Gamecock team plagued by turnovers and fouls.
“It’s some of the stuff we spoke about coming into the game,” Frank Martin said. “When you start taking chances they either turn it over or make us pay and they made us pay. That’s how they built that lead. I’ve never been in this predicament where a team turns the ball over so many times. Part of it is just nonsense. It’s lackadaisical passing. We have to be a lot more assertive offensively."
It’s been a struggle for South Carolina—which currently sits at 10-5 and 1-2 in the league—to not only protect the ball but keep their opponents off the free throw line over the last 120 minutes against SEC teams.
Through three games the Gamecocks rank 14th in the SEC in both turnover rate, coughing it up on nearly 30 percent of their offensive possessions, and in opponent free throw rate (FTA/FGA) at 53.8 percent.
Those issues popped up in the first two games against Auburn and at Vanderbilt but came to a head in Knoxville with 23 turnovers on 69 possessions leading to 21 Tennessee points.
They’d also get whistled for 20 fouls and put a Vol team averaging 14.9 free throws per game before Tuesday on the line 25 times.
“If you look at the game, honestly if we didn’t have as many self-inflicted wounds we could have been in the game,” James Reese said. “We’re trying to look at it like that. We didn’t just get beat, we kind of beat ourselves and put ourselves in that position. We just have to not put ourselves in that position again.”
South Carolina’s turned the ball over 244 times and fouled 302 times this season, just the third time since 2010 they’ve had over 200 turnovers and 300 fouls through the first 15 games of a season.
It’s something Martin and the rest of the Gamecocks know has to cut down on if they want to win more than they lose in league play.
“Honestly, of course practice but we just have to do it. Coach has guys out there and we’re out there for a reason,” Reese said. “We have to make plays. There’s not really anything special. We have to take care of the ball, catch the ball and be the players that got us here.”
When the offense hasn't been turning the ball over it's been effective in spurts this season but they’ll have another tough test against a Florida team Saturday (1 p.m., SEC Network) forcing turnovers on 24.2 percent of defensive possessions this season (19.4 in SEC play).
A win gets the Gamecocks back to .500 on the season and will keep the streak South Carolina has of not losing consecutive games this season.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. We’re a pretty good basketball team,” Martin said. “It’s life on the road in the SEC. You have to fight your tail off and try to put yourself in a place where the last media timeout you’re in a place to win. Now we have to go home, take a step back, refocus ourselves and have two really good, competitive, disciplined practices and go out there and play at home and figure out a way to get a win.”
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