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Hoops Preview: Gamecocks, Gators clash for second time this season

WHAT: South Carolina (20-7, 10-4) at Florida (22-5, 12-2)

WHERE: Exactech Arena (12,000), Gainesville, Fla.

WHEN: Tues, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. ET

TV/RADIO: ESPN (Joe Tessitore, Sean Farnham); Gamecock Radio Network (Derek Scott, Casey Manning).

LAST MEETING: South Carolina won 57-53 at Columbia, SC on Jan. 18, 2017.

SERIES STREAK: Gamecocks have won two games in a row.

By his own admission, Frank Martin loves practice.

There, he believes, a team builds the vitally important chemistry, confidence and comradeship essential for success in games.

A week ago, two days after a key road win at Mississippi State, the Gamecocks had one of their worst practices of the season. The following day’s practice was slightly better.

Those subpar workouts led into last Wednesday’s 83-76 home loss to Arkansas.

Then a funny thing happened. The Gamecocks had solid practices on Thursday and Friday leading into Saturday night’s 71-62 loss at Vanderbilt. Then they had another outstanding strong practice on Sunday.

Martin described Sunday’s practice, which came less than 24 hours after the loss to the Commodores, as “we were as good as we have been in a long, long time.”

“That came from them (the players), not from me,” Martin said. “I didn’t go in there and scream and kick chairs and do all the stuff people think I do. We communicated. Coach-to-player, player-to-player, the same thing we do all the time. Those guys came out (to practice Sunday) and they were off the charts.

“I feel we have rediscovered that desire to play with relentless pursuit of winning. I saw it leading into Vanderbilt and a big part of that game and I saw it to an even greater extent (Sunday). Does that mean we’re going to win? No. It just means that’s who our team is.”

So, even though USC has lost three of its last four games heading into Tuesday night’s showdown at Florida, Martin senses positive vibes around his teams.

“Have we played as well as we are capable? No,” Martin said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Defensively, have we slipped a little? Yes. But I’m encouraged by how well we practiced before Vanderbilt on Thursday and Friday and how well we defended for 30 minutes (in Nashville). We played more to our identity and character. We still didn’t rebound it the way we need to, but that has been an ongoing challenge with our team all year. That’s not something new.”

Martin is confident the Gamecocks will play better down the stretch, something they must do to secure an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

To get there, they’ll lean on the senior leadership of Sindarius Thornwell and others.

“I like my team a lot,” Martin said. “I liked them last month. I liked them in October. I like them today. We have a lot of young guys. They’re trying to figure it out as we speak. We have to have (the senior leadership). You can’t succeed without it.”

Regardless of USC’s improved practices and mindset, it’s going to take a flawless game both offensively and defensively to beat red-hot Florida on the Gators’ home floor in Gainesville tonight.

Florida has won eight straight games and now occupies the top spot in the SEC standings with Kentucky. Both teams are 12-2 ahead of their midweek games and Saturday’s massive collision in Lexington, Ky., that could decide the SEC race.

However, Florida lost an important piece of the puzzle last week when 6-foot-11 junior center John Egbunu, the Gators’ leading rebounder and most physical player, suffered a torn MCL at Auburn and has been lost for the season. Sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes is expected to replace Egbunu in the starting lineup.

“Egbunu not being there makes them different,” Martin said. “He is their shot blocker and gives them a low post presence. He is a big, strong, athletic, physical presence at the rim. That was a problem for everybody. But (coach) Mike White has that team playing through his eyes and his vision. That’s why they are as good as they are.”

Even with the injury loss of Egbunu, Florida has plenty of talent. They passed the first test without Egbunu by beating Mississippi State, 57-52, in Starkville on Saturday.

The top three scorers are graduate transfer Canyon Barry's 13.2 points per game, KeVaughn Allen (13.1) and Devin Robinson (11.1).

In SEC games, Barry, a transfer from College of Charleston majoring in Nuclear Engineering, leads Florida with 14.4 points per game and has connected on an impressive 92.7 pct (51-55) of his attempts from the four line. Not surprisingly, that figure leads all SEC players.

“They have unbelievable experience on that team,” Martin said. “Every one of their key guys has played a ton of games for them. They should be fine as far as adapting to whatever different ways they’re trying to play.”

Tuesday night’s game features battle between two of the best defensive teams statistically in the SEC. USC and Florida rank first and third, respectively, in scoring defense and first and second, respectively, in 3-point field goal percentage defense.

“They are just so big,” Martin said. “They have a lot of interchangeable guys in the 6-6 to 6-9 range. It makes it hard to pass and shoot. When they switch, they keep everything in front of them. When you have that kind of size, length and athleticism, it makes it hard. If you can’t make good, clean short passes, scoring is very difficult.”

NOTES

-- The Gamecocks are No. 30 in the latest NCAA RPI revealed Monday following Sunday’s games. They remain the third highest ranked SEC team in the RPI behind Florida (10) and Kentucky (9), both of whom won Saturday.

-- Thornwell has accounted for 36.5 pct. of the Gamecocks’ scoring over the course of the last five games. Over the course of the last five games, Thornwell is averaging 27.6 points, has hit 44.0 percent from the floor (40-91), has pulled down 8.4 rebounds per game, and has hit 48-of-59 (81.4 pct.) at the free throw line.

-- Through 27 games this season, South Carolina has held the opposing team's top scorer below his season average in 21 of those games.

-- Individually, Thornwell is second in scoring (21.1), first in steals (2.2) and fifth in rebounds (7.3) in overall games.

-- The Gamecocks are 6-3 in away games this season (5-2 in SEC games), and average 69.7 points per game and have hit 41.9 pct. from the field.

-- The success of Barry in making free throws is unusual for one reason. Just like his father, NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, Canyon shots free throws underhanded. But he is making them at a dizzying pace. Considering how much success both Barrys have had shooting free throws underhanded, why don’t more players try it? “Like everything else in life, not too many people have the courage to do things differently than the norm,” Martin said. “The norm is how 99.9 percent shoot free throws. I give that young man a lot of credit for not being embarrassed and trying something no one else does.”

PROJECTED STARTERS:

USC: Sindarius Thornwell (21.1 ppg), Duane Notice (10.2), P.J. Dozier (13.8), Maik Kotsar (6.2), Chris Silva (10.1).

FLA: Kasey Hill (9.7), KeVaughn Allen (13.1), Devin Robinson (11.1), Justin Leon (7.1), Kevarrius Hayes (6.3).

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Scoring Average: Sindarius Thornwell (21.1)

Total Points: Sindarius Thornwell (444)

Total Field Goals: Sindarius Thornwell (135)

Field Goal Pct: Chris Silva (.569)

3-Pointers: Duane Notice (50)

3-Pt Pct: Rakym Felder (44.3)

Free Throw Pct: Sindarius Thornwell (.835)

Total Rebounds: Chris Silva (158)

Defensive Rebounds: Chris Silva (99)

Offensive Rebounds: Maik Kotsar (62)

Assists: P.J. Dozier (75)

Turnovers: P.J. Dozier (55)

Blocks: Chris Silva (39)

Steals: Sindarius Thornwell (47)

Minutes: Duane Notice (876)

NEXT FIVE GAMES

Feb. 21 at Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN)*

Feb. 25 TENNESSEE, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Feb. 28 MISSISSIPPI STATE, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)*

March 4 at Ole Miss, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

March 8-12 SEC Tournament (at Nashville)

(All Times Eastern)

* SEC Game

SEC SCHEDULE (Feb. 21-23)

Tue., Feb. 21

South Carolina at Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Auburn at LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

Kentucky at Missouri, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)

Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

Wed., Feb. 22

Vanderbilt at Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

Texas A&M at Arkansas, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

Thu., Feb. 23

Georgia at Alabama, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

SEC STANDINGS (As of Feb. 20)

Florida 12-2

Kentucky 12-2

South Carolina 10-4

Alabama 9-5

Arkansas 9-5

Ole Miss 7-7

Tennessee 7-7

Vanderbilt 7-7

Georgia 6-8

Texas A&M 6-8

Mississippi State 5-9

Auburn 5-9

Missouri 2-12

LSU 1-13

ROAD TO NASHVILLE: According to the ‘Road to Nashville’ page in the SEC’s weekly media notes, here is the seeding for the SEC Tournament if the season ended today:

1. Florida

2. Kentucky

3. South Carolina

4. Arkansas

5. Alabama

6. Tennessee

7. Ole Miss

8. Vanderbilt

9. Texas A&M

10. Georgia

11. Auburn

12. Mississippi State

13. Missouri

14. LSU

Opening night matchups on March 8 would be Mississippi-State-Missouri and Auburn-LSU.

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