South Carolina will try to extend its winning streak to four when it visits Ole Miss Wednesday.
1. Minaya update (or lack of)
As of Monday, when Frank Martin held his press conference, Justin Minaya was still getting tests done on his left (shooting) thumb. Minaya dislocated his thumb against Missouri and played the second half with a warp on his thumb, but his shooting was impacted.as he missed both his shot attempts and both free throw tries.
Minaya has been an essential player, averaging 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while playing strong defense. His versatility and ability to defend multiple positions gives Martin the flexibility to use different lineups.
There was a possibility that a decision and announcement could have come on Tuesday, but that has passed with no news. An update will come some time on Wednesday, obviously.
The good news is that both Keyshawn Bryant and Jalyn McCreary, who were limited against Missouri with sore knees, are good to go.
2. Keep the momentum
Who would have thought, a month ago, that the Gamecocks would have the third-longest winning streak in the SEC and be tied for fourth (although - they’ve been in the top four three of the last four years, so maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise)? And now with a very winnable game against Ole Miss up next?
3. Free throws
Since the two game stretch where South Carolina attempted eight and nine free throws against Texas A&M and Auburn, South Carolina has largely corrected the imbalance. Against Vanderbilt, South Carolina shot 24 free throws, 33 against Arkansas, and 32 against Missouri. South Carolina also went from -33 against Texas A&M, to -12, -11, -7, and then +17. So the attempts are trending in the right direction.
As for making them? Still a mystery. The percentages go 87.5, 33.3, 70.8, 51.5, and 56.3.That 5.15 was against Arkansas, when South Carolina made eight of its last ten. The percentages are bad enough that Frank Martin name-checked the immortal Lakeem Jackson, but said that patience and persistence are needed.
“I don’t think technique is the problem with our guys,” Martin said. “We’re not missing left, right, we’re not shooting them off the backboard, we’re not shooting air balls. Every shot is off the front or the back of the rim. That means everything’s good. In practice we make them.”
4. Defense
South Carolina has struggled with its rotations on defense all season, and even though it has gotten better. There are still issues.
“I’m still not completely happy with certain rotations,” Martin said. “We’re not communicating as well as we need to so we end up with two guys helping. When you help with two guys now you’re short-handed on the backside.”
If you are looking for an illustration of what communication on defense means, watch Dawn Staley’s team. Watching the back to back home games last weekend, one difference was striking. Every time Tennessee ran a screen or made a pass, you saw five Gamecock arms fly up, pointing out rotations or assignments. Every time. And you seldom saw anyone out of position. Going back to Saturday, you saw the same thing on fast breaks, or occasionally on switches, but nothing like the regularity you saw a day later, and there were numerous times when two people chased the same player.
5. Scouting the Rebels
Ole Miss is just 1-7 in the SEC, with a win over Georgia, but this is also a team that was up 19 in the second half before losing to Auburn a week ago. Ole Miss defends the three well and gets good ball pressure, making it a good matchup against Auburn, and for that matter South Carolina. South Carolina shoots a lot of threes, but not especially well, and although the Gamecocks generally take good care of the ball, they’ve been prone to turnovers in bunches.
On the other end, we’ve already talked about the Gamecocks’ issues on defense, and Ole Miss has guard Breein Tyree, who is averaging 17.9 points per game, third in the SEC. Tyree also grabs 3.6 rebounds and dishes out 3.5 assists, but he’s been a little bit hit-or-miss. For example, he had 36 points against LSU a few weeks ago, but just eight in double overtime against Auburn and nine last weekend in the rematch against LSU. Tyree is good at getting to the line (11th in the SEC), and along with Devontae Shuler and Blake Hinson, South Carolina is facing a challenge.
“It’s going to be a hard guard,” Martin said. “Our ball screen defense has got to be as good as it’s been all year because those guards are coming at you on every single play.”
The Ws
Who: South Carolina (13-8, 5-3) at Ole Miss (10-11, 1-7)
When: Wednesday, February 5, 7:00 pm
Where: The Pavilion at Ole Miss, Oxford, MS
Watch: SEC Network
