South Carolina visits Arkansas as the Gamecocks try to break a two-game losing streak.
1. Who is available?
Everyone should be available.
2. Who’s got spirit?
Frank Martin was furious with the effort the Gamecocks played with in the 71-63 loss to the Gators.
“When I see a performance like that my antennas come up,” Martin said. “Truth be told we played like a team that had no interest in winning.”
The Gamecocks had an intense film session and practice Sunday, where Martin said he was “on edge.”
“Yesterday we had a truth-telling session,” Martin said Monday. “We had enough guys that were on edge and ready to go and were ready to accept the truth, which is the most important part.”
There were a few players who might not have gotten the message, Martin said, but he wasn’t worried about them. Instead, he thinks the “truth” was received.
3. Turnovers and fouls
I don’t have anything to add. We know that South Carolina has to limit turnovers and commit fewer fouls to win. South Carolina committed just nine turnovers and 15 fouls against Florida, both season lows aside from the Allen game. So it can be done, they just have to defend and make shots, too.
4. Make a shot
Almost as obvious as the turnovers and fouls, South Carolina has to make shots. The Gamecocks are a streaky, jump-shooting team, and when the shots aren’t falling, they struggle to manufacture points. South Carolina shot just 26-75, making almost the same number of shots as Florida despite 26 more attempts (27-49).
“If you go back and you look at the Florida stats it would blow your mind that we lost the game,” Martin said. “Our lack of aggression is what cost us.”
South Carolina was a brutal 4-22 on layups and attempted just five free throws, two sure indicators of a team that isn’t being physical enough inside. It also puts a different spin on things when 18 of the 49 missed shots were layups. At the end of the day, though, South Carolina just has to put the ball through the basket, whether it’s a layup or a jump shot.
5. Scouting the Razorbacks
For the second game in a row, Arkansas will be without head coach Eric Musselman, who had shoulder surgery. He will be replaced by Keith Smart, a longtime NBA head and assistant coach.
Arkansas won its first nine games of the season, rising as high as #10 in the AP poll. But a loss to Oklahoma sent Arkansas into a spiral, losing five of six, including their first three conference games. Arkansas seems to have found itself in the last week, with a blowout win over Missouri and a road upset of LSU.
Senior guard JD Notae is the SEC’s leading scorer, averaging 18.8 points per game. He is one of five players averaging in double figures, and Arkansas is top 30 in the country in scoring, with almost all the points coming from guards.
“They all play off the bounce,” Martin said. “The guys off the ball don’t stand still. There’s constant moving, screening, cutting, which puts a lot of stress on your help-side defense.”
All those guards don’t just score - they play a quick, aggressive defense because they can switch everything. If South Carolina gets passive again, it will be in trouble.
“They’re a team that relies on a lot of switching, a lot of aggression on the perimeter,” Martin said. “(Our) guys off the ball can’t jog cuts. There’s got to be a purpose to how they play. We can’t whiff on screens, and then the guy with the ball can’t hold the basketball. He’s got to be ready to shoot, pass, dribble, in that order.”
The Ws
Who: South Carolina (10-6, 1-3) at Arkansas (12-5, 2-3)
When: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, January 18
Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, AR
Watch: SEC network
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