SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS MEN’S BASKETBALL
South Carolina welcomes top-ranked Tennessee to Columbia for a Tuesday night game.
1. The last time...
The last time a team ranked number one in the nation visited Columbia was almost nine years ago exactly. On that night, January 26, 2010, the legend of Devan Downey was cemented as he seemingly single-handedly took down mighty Kentucky. Downey finished that game with 30 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals, a stat line that doesn’t even begin to describe how he out-dueled John Wall, controlled every possession, and willed the Gamecocks to victory.
As the game ended, Downey waved at the student section to join him on the court, incurring a fine that South Carolina happily paid.
An upset of Tennessee Tuesday night is unlikely, but not impossible. After all, South Carolina does have a home winning streak against #1 teams. But with a loss more likely, let’s just rewatch some of Downey’s highlights.
2. Sellout
The game against Tennessee was announced as an official sellout on Twitter Monday evening. It will be the twelfth sellout for a men’s basketball game in Colonial Life Arena history (women’s basketball has three additional sellouts). Not surprisingly, five of the sellouts, including the first one on March 3, 2004, have been against Kentucky. Two have come against Georgia, one each against Alabama and Florida during the 2016 season, and two have been against Tennessee, including the most recent one, a little over a year ago on January 20, 2018.
In those previous 11 games, South Carolina is 5-6, and 0-2 against Tennessee. The first was the blowout loss in 2009 with the SEC East title on the line, and the second was the narrow 70-63 loss last season. The trends certainly are not in South carolina’s favor, but don’t tell the players.
“This is a team that we’ve played for a couple of years, so we don’t get too hyped,” Hassani Gravett said. “We’re just playing them like any other team.”
For completists, women’s basketball sold out against Connecticut twice, both losses, and against Kentucky, a win.
3. Silva vs Williams
We always say, as Chris Silva goes, South Carolina goes. That may be even more true against Tennessee. Forward Grant Williams is the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.2 points per game while also averaging 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists, and Williams and Silva are likely to see a lot of each other Tuesday night. Williams is a Player of the Year candidate, and he was the national Player of the Week for last week, when he averaged 31 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals and a perfect 23-23 from the free throw line as part of his career-high 43 points against Vanderbilt.
“He does a good job of reading the defense,” Silva said. “Every time I try to get physical, he’ll outsmart me. And when I try to play smart he’ll play physical.”
“It’s no secret,” Frank Martin said. “They need grant to stay in the game and we need Chris to stay in the game.”
4. Fight for Literacy
Tuesday night’s game is the Fight for Literacy game. Both coaching staffs will wear green ties to help raise awareness about illiteracy. Additionally, South Carolina is organizing a donation for each Gamecock assist over the next four games. Fans can make a donation at www.pledgeit.org/gamecocksforliteracy.
Sponsor International Paper will also donate $3 for each use of the hashtag #IP4Literacy. More information can be found at www.coachingforliteracy.org/promotion-rules.
All of the money raised will be distributed in South Carolina.
5. Scouting the Volunteers
Tennessee is exactly the sort of team Martin loves: deep, physical, and experienced. Williams is a junior and second-leading Admiral Schofield is a senior. Tennessee starts two juniors, a redshirt junior, and two seniors, and they have been together for a while. Sixth-man Jordan Bowden is another junior, and he is averaging 16.2 points per game in SEC play.
Tennessee is averaging 86.1 points per game, best in the conference and eighth in the country. Tennessee is fourth in the country in scoring margin at 18.6 points, and third in the country in field goal percentage at 51 percent, a stat that seems like a misprint.
“You go watch them play, that same team came here two years ago and we had our way with them,” Martin said. “That same group of kids stayed the course and now they’re the number one team in the country.”
The Ws
Who: South Carolina (10-9, 5-1) vs #1 Tennessee (18-1, 6-0)
When: Tuesday, January 29, 6:30 pm
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: SEC Network
More Men’s Basketball Links: MBB/WBB News | Roster | Schedule | Statistics | SEC Standings | Top 25 Polls | Commitments | Recruiting Database
