SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
The Gamecocks lost Tuesday, but get a quick turnaround to play again Wednesday night and earn what could be a good win by the end of the season.
They'll play Northern Iowa in their second and final game in Cancun, needing a win to avoid their third loss in four games.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight on the CBS Sports Network, but before the game get to know tonight's opponent.
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The skinny: This is the consolation game of the tournament with both teams having lost their first game. For UNI, it was their first loss of the season against their best competition, blowing a double-digit lead in the second half against West Virginia and losing in the final minute.
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They're 6-1 right now with no real wins over great opponents. Their best win came against Northern Illinois (No. 142 KenPom), 64-54. South Carolina's best win is against No. 201 Gardner Webb.
It's a program who's been to the tournament four times since 2009 under current head coach Ben Jacobsen, making the Sweet 16 in 2010. Their last tournament appearance came in 2016.
The Panthers have a pretty old team with four of their five starters juniors or seniors.
They slow the pace down a lot with the 324th-slowest adjusted tempo and average possessions at 19 seconds, which means it's the complete opposite of how the Gamecocks want to play.
KenPom prediction: The Gamecocks (4-2) are given a 54 percent chance to win by KenPom with the site predicting a 67-65 Gamecock win in Cancun.
Also see: Breaking down last night's loss to Wichita State
What they do well: Defense is probably this team's strong suit, limiting opponents to just 93.8 points per 100 possessions and creating a lot of turnovers off good defense. Their turnover percentage on non-steals is 14.3 percent, which is 15th-best in the country, which means they're not getting a lot of steals and forcing bad passes or miscues offensively.
Opponents are only shooting roughly 56 percent from two against them, which is one of the better marks in the country, and they're a pretty average three-point shooting team (31.7 percent from long range), with 61 percent of their points coming from three.
It'll be a big test for a Gamecock team who's allowing opponents to get open looks from long range at times this season.
What they don't do well: They're not a great free-throw shooting team, hitting just 68 percent from the line, and they have a propensity for getting the ball stolen from them. There could be a lot of opportunities on the perimeter for the Gamecocks, who forced double-digit turnovers Tuesday, to get out in the open court.
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The Panthers are a poor offensive rebounding team with a rebounding rate there at 26.3 percent, which is 219th out of 353 teams in college basketball. South Carolina is the 24th-best offensive rebounding team in the country, by comparison, so second-chance opportunities can be there as well.
Player to watch: Trae Berhow, F
South Carolina's had problems with bigger guards beating them off the dribble, and Berhow is a guy who can do that. He current has a top 80 offensive rating nationally at 130.3 and doesn't turn the ball over with an incredibly low 6.1 turnover rate.
He's averaging 13.3 points, five rebounds and just 2.4 fouls per game this year and doesn't take many bad shots. His 61.8 effective field goal percentage is 68th-best nationally and he's shooting 66.7 percent from two and almost 40 percent from three-point range.
The Panthers use him a lot—he plays almost 72 percent of available minutes and takes 21 percent of the shots when he's on the court—at either the three or the four, which means it'll be up to Justin Minaya or Maik Kotsar to contain him.
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