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South Carolina's MBB returned to what many of us expected last weekend in Charleston, and perhaps a little worse than expected after the unexpected 2-0 start to the season. After going 0-3 in the Holy City, the Gamecocks will attempt to notch a W back in the safe confines of home this afternoon at 4 pm. Despite last weekend's struggles, South Carolina enters this contest as a -12.5 favorite, and if they hope to cover, they'll need big games from freshman phenom G.G. Jackson along with some combination of early leaders Hayden Brown, Meechie Johnson, and Chico Carter.

Last weekend in Charleston, the Gamecocks were gashed defensively by far too many backdoor cuts, leading to easy points in blowout losses to Colorado State and Furman, and a slightly more respectable 9 points loss to Davidson. It was a far cry from the defensive effort shown in the surprising 60-58 win vs. Clemson on Nov. 11, where the Gamecocks played with exceptional effort on defense, and outrebounded Clemson on both ends of the floor. USC Upstate has had their own early season struggles, including a staggering 83-56 loss to Air Force on Monday.

The two teams mirror each other in scoring, with Upstate averaging 66.6 points per game, while giving up 73.6 points per game, and the Gamecocks averaging 62.6 points per game, while giving up 73.6 points per game. The main difference lies in South Carolina's abysmal shooting percentage, currently sitting at a lowly 38.4%. An early concerning trend has been the Gamecocks settling for tough shots on more possessions than not, and they may benefit from pushing the ball inside a bit more stubbornly, especially against a team they should have an athletic advantage on today.

Coach Dave Dickerson has the Spartans trending in the right direction in his 5th year at the helm, setting a program record for conference wins last season with 10, and earning the Spartans a trip to The Basketball Classic post-season tournament after finishing 4th in the Big South regular season standings.

The Gamecocks are still attempting to find their identity under first-year head coach Lamont Paris who had quite the challenge ahead of him, with some young talent, but mostly unproven, with only 15% of the Gamecocks' production returning from last season.

The Spartans are led by strong Guard play from the trio of Jordain Gainey (14.4 ppg), Justin Bailey (11 ppg), and Trae Broadnax (10.8 ppg), but South Carolina should have an advantage on the interior, where Josh Gray and G.G. Jackson should have a size advantage, and Hayden Brown has already proven his effort can go toe to toe with nearly anyone.

Gamecocks 83 ------ Upstate 71

I think the Gamecocks get back on track after their poor showing in the Charleston Classic. I expect some of the same old frustrations to crop up here and there with easy baskets for the Spartans' guards when they drive inside, but ultimately their superior length should provide South Carolina with enough second-chance opportunities to offset their shooting deficiencies.