SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

South Carolina men’s basketball team got something Wednesday they hadn’t had in just about two weeks: a break.

After going for 13 days straight with either practice or a game, the Gamecocks finally were able to take a deep breath Wednesday and now feel ready for a huge stretch of games that start Saturday at Oklahoma State.

“It was nice to have an off day. We were going for 13 straight days without a break. It was hectic at times,” Maik Kotsar said. “Everyone was tired; everyone needed a break. Now we’re refreshed and ready to go.”

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The Gamecocks (10-8, 5-1 SEC) played Mississippi State Jan. 8 and had that Wednesday off before starting 13-straight days of either practice, shoot around or a game.

They played four games in 10 days, starting with a game against Missouri that was moved back a day because of snow preventing the Tigers’ travel and culminating in an upset win over Auburn Tuesday at home.

Between that were two road games at Vanderbilt and LSU, a stretch where the Gamecocks went 1-1 and had to make a quick turnaround coming from Nashville back to Columbia and then out to Baton Rouge.

After beating Auburn, players finally got a day off to get their feet under them before traveling to Oklahoma State (8-11, 2-5 Big 12) Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 challenge and hosting No. 1 Tennessee (17-1, 6-0 SEC).

For a young team like South Carolina, it could be easy to overlook a team that record-wise isn’t having a great year with the top-ranked team next up, but the veterans aren’t letting that happen.

“We take everything one game at a time,” Hassani Gravett said. “We’re not worried about Tennessee right now. That’s not our focus. The most important game on the schedule is the next one.”

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Oklahoma State is a team in flux right now, two weeks removed from the dismissal of three players and having to hold walk-on tryouts so they could have full scrimmages in practice.

But South Carolina, a team that’s had it’s own injury issues, isn’t focused too much on which players will and won’t be on the court Saturday.

“That’s not really our concern. Our concern is sticking to what we’re supposed to do,” Gravett said. “They have their own problems, we have our own problems.”

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This is the team’s first road trip since that trek to LSU, the worst loss so far this season. The Gamecocks ended up losing by 22 points to snap a five-game winning streak.

That game was the third in seven days for the Gamecocks, who are hoping the extra rest they got over the last few days brings different results.

“We need to play as a team,” Kotsar said. “We need to trust each other and stick to our ways, stick to what Frank teaches us. If we can do that, we can defeat anyone.”