WHAT: South Carolina (16-4, 6-1) at Missouri (5-14, 0-7)

WHERE: Mizzou Arena (15,061), Columbia, Mo.

WHEN: Sat., Jan. 28, 8:30 p.m. ET

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Mike Morgan and Pat Bradley); Gamecock Radio Network (Derek Scott, Casey Manning).

LAST MEETING: Missouri won 72-67 on Feb. 16, 2016 at Columbia, Mo.

STREAK: Missouri has won one game in a row.

Tossing the three losses to Georgia aside for a moment, as far as Frank Martin is concerned, one game, one moment cost South Carolina dearly in their quest for a 2016 NCAA Tournament at-large berth last March.

Three days after losing 89-62 at home to Kentucky, the Gamecocks traveled to lowly Missouri on Feb. 16, and were understandably heavy favorites to beat the SEC’s last place team.

However, USC played lethargically on defense, got whistled for 25 fouls and put Missouri at the free throw line 38 times. The result? A 72-67 loss, one of only three SEC games Missouri won in 2015-16.

A month later, the Gamecocks found themselves left out in the NCAA Tournament cold.

Martin hasn’t forgotten.

“Hopefully, we’ll play better (at Missouri) this year,” Martin said Thursday on the SEC coaches teleconference. “Last year, we didn’t prepare well going into Missouri coming off the Kentucky loss. I don’t dwell a lot on the past, but every once in a while you have to refresh people’s memories so they comprehend.

“Last year, people said we didn’t win enough games (to get into the NCAA Tournament). That wasn’t true. What skewed our numbers in the wrong direction was we lost to a team (Missouri) that had a bad RPI. That’s what messed us up.”

A year later, the Gamecocks responded to last Saturday’s 85-69 loss at Kentucky by shredding Auburn, 98-69, with a 3-point barrage. Thus, unlike last year, they head to the Show Me State in a much more positive frame of mind and outlook.

Duane Notice certainly remembers last year’s devastating loss at Missouri and the negative impact it had on USC’s NCAA Tournament hopes.

“Coach Martin has reminded us that loss at Missouri haunted us,” Notice said after the big win over Auburn. “He wants to make sure regardless of who we play, we practice well, come out with confidence and give ourselves the best opportunity to win.”

Is USC seeking redemption Saturday night? You betcha.

Notice said the seniors (himself, Sindarius Thornwell, Justin McKie) are extremely motivated to make sure the Gamecocks don’t slip up against a lowly Missouri team for the second year in a row.

“Knowing we are playing a team we lost to last year, we are definitely fueled and motivated to get that win,” Notice said. “The rest of the team has to make sure we capitalize on our opportunity and get back to where we were before the Kentucky game. We have to bring our best offense and defense to the table.”

While last year’s loss to Missouri played a significant role in denying the Gamecocks bid, a loss this year to the Tigers would be worse because Missouri has regressed under third-year head coach Kim Anderson, who is 24-58 since taking over the program prior to the 2014-15 season.

Missouri is buried under a confidence-sapping 11-game losing streak and an 0-7 SEC mark. During the non-conference portion of the 2016-17 schedule, the Tigers lost at home to North Carolina Central, Eastern Illinois and Lipscomb.

Unquestionably, Missouri is merely a bad basketball team and speculation is already swirling around Anderson’s future in the “other” Columbia. At this point, few analysts expect him to survive the season.

Anderson is 6-37 against SEC opponents in his three season at Missouri.

Obviously, the Tigers struggle in many areas, but scoring points has been a problem all season. Missouri is last in the SEC in field goal shooting percentage (39.7) and 3-point shooting percentage (28.8), and is the lone conference team shooting below 42.0 percent from the field.

Two Missouri players average double-figure points for the Tigers: Junior Jordan Barnett is averaging 12.5 points per outing, while sophomore Kevin Puryear adds 11.8 points per game.

South Carolina, meanwhile, remains No. 1 in the SEC in all three major defensive categories – scoring defense (61.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (37.3) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.4). USC currently leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense.

“As I’ve said, this team has the ability to be the best defensive team I’ve had as a head coach in college basketball,” Martin said. “The size of our guards, our depth, our balance, the experience factor with our guards. We have guys that have played a lot of minutes and have had a lot of practice in our system. They believe in it, they fight for it. And our rim protection with our younger guys inside has been better than it’s been since I’ve bene here. Our ability to defend ball screens is better.”

Bottom line: If the Gamecocks bring their ‘A game' defensively into Mizzou Arena Saturday night, they should win comfortably. However, if they again sleepwalk through the game as they did last year, they are risking another embarrassing defeat to Missouri.

NOTES:

-- The Gamecocks are currently ranked No. 17 in the latest NCAA RPI through Thursday night’s games. They’re the third highest ranked SEC team behind Kentucky (#5) and Florida (#12).

-- Over the course of the last three games, USC has held its opponents to just 19.0 percent (11-58) from 3-point range. Florida did not make a 3 (0-17), Kentucky connected on 8-of-20 (40.0%) and Auburn hit just 3-of-21 (14.3%) attempts.

-- The Gamecocks are forcing an average of 19.4 turnovers per SEC contest. Missouri is averaging 12.8 turnovers per game. In SEC games, USC is first in scoring defense (64.6), FG Pct. defense (39.9%) and steals (8.7 per game).

PROJECTED STARTERS:

USC: Sindarius Thornwell (19.6 ppg), Duane Notice (10.0), P.J. Dozier (13.9), Maik Kotsar (7.2), Chris Silva (9.8).

MIZ: K.J. Walton (6.5 ppg), Jordan Geist (7.1), Jordan Barnett (12.5), Kevin Puryear (11.8), Russell Woods (7.7).

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Scoring Average: Sindarius Thornwell (19.6)

Total Points: Sindarius Thornwell (19.6)

Field Goal Pct: Chris Silva (57.3)

3-Pt Pct: Rakym Felder (44.7)

Free Throw Pct: Sindarius Thornwell (83.5)

Total Rebounds: Chris Silva (122)

Defensive Rebounds: Chris Silva (78)

Offensive Rebounds: Maik Kotsar (48)

Assists: P.J. Dozier (56)

Turnovers: P.J. Dozier (40)

Blocks: Chris Silva (36)

Steals: P.J. Dozier (35)

Minutes: Duane Notice (628)

NEXT FIVE GAMES

Jan. 28 at Missouri, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Feb. 1 at LSU, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Feb. 4 GEORGIA, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)*

Feb. 7 ALABAMA, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*

Feb. 11 at Mississippi State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)*

(All Times Eastern)

* SEC Game

SEC SCHEDULE (Sat. Jan. 28)

SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE

Texas A&M at West Virginia, noon (ESPN)

Florida at Oklahoma, 2 p.m. (ESPN)

Kansas State at Tennessee, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)

LSU at Texas Tech, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

Texas at Georgia, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Arkansas at Oklahoma State, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)

Iowa State at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Kansas at Kentucky, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Baylor at Ole Miss, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

Auburn at TCU, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

CONFERENCE GAMES

Mississippi State at Alabama, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)

South Carolina at Missouri, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

SEC STANDINGS (As of Jan. 27)

Kentucky 7-1

South Carolina 6-1

Florida 6-2

Alabama 5-2

Arkansas 5-3

Mississippi State 4-3

Georgia 4-4

Tennessee 4-4

Ole Miss 3-5

Vanderbilt 3-5

Auburn 3-5

Texas A&M 3-5

LSU 1-7

Missouri 0-7