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Hoops Preview: Gamecocks head to Rocky Top for second SEC road test

WHAT: South Carolina (12-3, 2-0) at Tennessee (8-7, 1-2)

WHERE: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678), Knoxville, TN

WHEN: Wed., Jan. 11, 6:30 p.m. ET

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Chris Spatola); Gamecock Radio Network (Derek Scott, Casey Manning).

Frank Martin has coached against Rick Barnes for a decade – back when Martin was at Kansas State and Barnes was coaching Texas in the Big 12 - so he knows exactly what type of Tennessee team will greet South Carolina Wednesday on Rocky Top.

Even though the rebuilding Vols are extremely young with three freshmen and a sophomore in the projected starting lineup, Martin realizes the Gamecocks face 40 challenging minutes of hard-nosed basketball.

“They are going to fight you from beginning to end,” said Martin, who is seeking his 200th career coaching victory Wednesday. “(Barnes) is phenomenal. He has helped me even though he was a competitor. Rick’s teams are just like him. Those of us that remember him from his pre-Texas days (coached at Clemson) know he is an unbelievable competitor. He is a fiery coach and his teams play that way.”

Victory in Knoxville would secure South Carolina’s first 3-0 start in SEC play since 1996-97 when the Gamecocks started 11-0. It would also mark the Gamecocks’ first two-game winning streak over the Vols since the 2003-04 season, and cement their first back-to-back SEC road wins since 2010-11.

Barnes is his second season in Knoxville and 30th season overall as a head coach.

Four Vols average double figures led by senior Robert Hubs III’s 14.7 points per game. He is second on the team in league games with 11.7 points per game. Junior guard Detrick Mostella, who comes of the bench, paces the squad in three SEC games thus far, scoring a team best 12.7 points per game. He is averaging 15.2 points and connecting on 40.5 percent (17-42) of his 3-point attempts over UT’s last six games.

More than half Mostella’s career field goals have been 3-pointers.

Sophomore forward Admiral Schofield, another standout off the bench, registered the first double-double of his career last Saturday as he posted 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds at Florida in UT’s 83-70 loss.

Tennessee opened SEC play with a 73-63 road win at Texas A&M, but since then has lost at home to Arkansas (82-78) and at Florida (83-70). Their non-conference slate featured matchups with Wisconsin and Oregon at the Maui Invitational, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Gonzaga.

The Vols are vying to prevent their first three-game losing streak of the season. History against the Gamecocks is on their side – Tennessee has won 12 of the last 13 home games against the Gamecocks at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“They are starting to play through his disciplines,” Martin said. “It’s easy to see when you watch them on film now compared to last year when you saw spurts of it. Now you’re starting to see some continuity. The guys that have been there and are back are so much better. The young kids have gotten a lot better because they have played a real hard schedule.”

The Gamecocks have opened conference play with potentially tone-setting victories over Georgia and Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are one of four unbeaten teams left in conference play, joining Kentucky, Florida and Alabama in that elite group.

Defensively, the Gamecocks forced 25 turnovers by hot-shooting Texas A&M to claim a 79-68 victory last Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena. Forcing 16 turnovers from Georgia keyed the 67-61 win in Athens on Jan. 4. Overall, USC has forced 14+ turnovers in 13 of its 15 games this season. Only once has the opponent managed less than 10 turnovers (Holy Cross).

“I really like this team,” Martin said. “I like their makeup, I like what they’re about. I like the way they help each other. But we have two months of basketball to go (until the NCAA Tourney) and every game is going to be like the first two have been. Every single one of them.”

USC is undefeated with Sindarius Thornwell in the lineup. They were 3-3 in the six games without him until his return at the start of conference play. Martin is pleased with how his players have handled adversity.

“We have dealt with suspensions, injuries, losing a couple of games when we didn’t have a full squad against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams,” Martin said. “We went nose-to-nose with them. My job is make our guys understand that every game is going to be like the first two.

“If the season ended today, our team has accomplished a lot of good. Our guys have answered the bell every time I’ve asked them to, regardless of the adversity we’ve dealt with. I think we will continue getting better as a team.”

NOTES

-- South Carolina is No. 35 in the latest NCAA RPI through games of Jan. 9. The Gamecocks are the fourth highest ranked SEC team behind Florida (No. 3), Kentucky (8) and Arkansas (27). USC is No. 27 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. They are second in the Receiving Votes category behind Seton Hall. The SEC has two teams ranked in the AP Poll – Kentucky (No. 6) and Florida (23).

-- South Carolina leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense (37.1 pct.). In fact, the Gamecocks top the SEC in three key defensive categories – scoring defense (60.0 ppg), 3-point FG percentage defense (28.6 pct.) and FG percentage defense. Because the Gamecocks are so strong defensively, their scoring margin is plus-12.1 (3rd in the SEC) even though they rank just No. 12 in scoring offense (72.1 ppg).

-- Sophomore forward Chris Silva’s 70.6 shooting percentage from the field (12-17) leads the SEC in conference games only.

-- Martin said 6-foot-4 freshman guard Evan Hinson, who is a tight end on the Gamecocks football team, is “full time” with the basketball team. Hinson has not appeared in a game this season, but Martin envisions a role for him later in the season. “He is really going to help us,” Martin said. “He understands what we do. He has picked it up very quickly. He is athletic and has the ability to score. But he has to practice and put his arms around everything we do.”

-- After getting off to a hot start shooting the basketball, freshman forward Maik Kotsar is just 3-of-15 from the floor in the last three games, dropping his field goal percentage to 54.6 percent.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

USC: Sindarius Thornwell (18.4 ppg), Duane Notice (10.1), P.J. Dozier (15.4), Maik Kotsar (7.7), Chris Silva (9.7).

TEN: Lamonte Turner (9.1), Jordan Bowden (8.1), Robert Hubbs III (14.7), Grant Williams (10.5), Kyle Alexander (3.6).

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Scoring Average: Sindarius Thornwell (18.4)

Total Points: P.J. Dozier (231)

Field Goal Pct: Chris Silva (59.8)

3-Pt Pct: Rakym Felder (51.5)

Free Throw Pct: Sindarius Thornwell (83.3)

Total Rebounds: Chris Silva (95)

Defensive Rebounds: P.J. Dozier (60)

Offensive Rebounds: Chris Silva (36)

Assists: P.J. Dozier (47)

Turnovers: P.J. Dozier (30)

Blocks: Chris Silva (30)

Steals: P.J. Dozier (34)

Minutes: Duane Notice (468)

NEXT FIVE GAMES

Jan. 11 at Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Jan. 14 OLE MISS, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)*

Jan. 18 FLORIDA, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Jan. 21 at Kentucky, TBA (ESPN or ESPN2)*

Jan. 24 AUBURN, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

(All Times Eastern)

* SEC Game

SEC SCHEDULE (Jan. 10-11)

Tues., Jan. 10

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

Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Florida at Alabama, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

Mississippi State at Arkansas, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)

Wed., Jan. 11

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

Georgia at Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

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

SEC STANDINGS (As of Jan. 9)

Kentucky 3-0

Florida 3-0

South Carolina 2-0

Alabama 2-0

Georgia 2-1

Vanderbilt 2-1

Mississippi State 1-1

Arkansas 1-2

Ole Miss 1-2

LSU 1-2

Tennessee 1-2

Auburn 0-3

Texas A&M 0-3

Missouri 0-2

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