Preview: Seniors want to assure Tuesday really is their final game at CLA
WHAT: Mississippi State (14-14, 5-11) at South Carolina (21-8, 11-5)
WHERE: Colonial Life Arena (18,000), Columbia, SC
WHEN: Tue., Feb. 28, 7 p.m. ET
TV/RADIO: ESPNU (Mike Couzens, Brooke Weisbrod); Gamecock Radio Network (Derek Scott, Casey Manning).
LAST MEETING: South Carolina won 77-73 at Starkville, Miss. on Feb. 11, 2017.
SERIES STREAK: Gamecocks have won one game in a row and four of the last five.
Seniors Duane Notice and Justin McKie – and presumably Sindarius Thornwell too - are on a mission to make sure Tuesday night’s matchup with struggling Mississippi State is definitely the last basketball game they ever play at Colonial Life Arena.
With the Gamecocks millimeters from sealing an NCAA Tournament at-large berth (if they don’t win the SEC Tournament), Notice and McKie are eager to close the deal against a team that USC has already beaten once this season on the road and make Selection Sunday on March 12 far less nerve-racking than last year.
“Everyone knows what happened last year playing in the NIT,” Notice said Monday. “It was a good experience, but it wasn’t where we wanted to play and that was the NCAA Tournament. So we have to make sure we capitalize (Tuesday) on beating Mississippi State in front of a great crowd and assure it’s our last time we play here. It will be a bittersweet moment, but sweet because we would be in the right direction to make the (NCAA) Tournament.”
A win over Mississippi State would also clinch a top four seed in the SEC Tournament for the Gamecocks, allowing them to rest one more day before taking the court in Nashville for the quarterfinal round on Friday, March 10.
Thornwell has scored at least 15 points in 21 games this season and has accounted for 31.4 percent of the Gamecocks’ scoring over the last five games.
Overall this season, Thornwell accounts for 22.7 percent of USC’s scoring. In league play, that figure jumps to 29.6 percent.
Only two other SEC players in the last 18 SEC seasons have accounted for more of his team’s scoring in league games and had winning conference records than Thornwell: Ron Slay (Tennessee in 2002-03, 31.3 pct.) and Marcus Thornton (LSU in 2008-09, 29.8 pct.).
In individual SEC statistics, Thornwell is second in the league in scoring (21.0), fifth in rebounds (7.3), first in steals (2.2) and seventh in offensive rebounds per game (2.6).
Overcoming an assortment of nagging injuries during his sophomore and junior campaigns, Thornwell ranks fifth all-time at USC with 1,760 career points. He is 142 points away from passing Devan Downey (1,901) for fourth place on the all-time list. Thornwell is just the sixth Gamecock to score at least 1,700 points during his career.
Will chants of ‘MVP!’ rain down on Tuesday night? Very likely.
“I’m real happy he has had the year he’s had,” USC head coach Frank Martin said. “If you gave him a choice – postseason basketball or player of the year – he will say postseason basketball every single time. I’m trying to get him both. He deserves it. I’m putting all my energies into making sure that happens for him.”
Tuesday night, the Gamecocks face reeling Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have lost six games in a row, eight of their last nine and have not won an SEC road game since Jan. 10 when they beat Arkansas in Fayetteville, 84-78.
In the first meeting between USC and Mississippi State 17 days ago, the Bulldogs torched USC’s perimeter defense, draining 11 3-pointers. USC limited Mississippi State’s leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon (16.5 points per game) to five points on 1-of-5 shooting. However, reserve Tyson Carter picked up the slack with 22 points and kept MSU within striking range.
“You always try to control or maybe neutralize the other team’s strengths,” Martin said. (In the last game vs. MSU) we made big-time defensive mistakes on the other guys that gave them open shots. Give them credit. They made some open shots and some hard shots too. We have to make sure (Weatherspoon) doesn’t just run around and get the shots he wants.
“Then he gets unbelievably aggressive and he gets to the foul line and gets offensive rebounds. We have to corral him and keep him under control. We did a good job of that with him over there. Now we have to be better with our coverage off the ball. I’d rather cover him and not give the other guys open shots.”
With a .500 overall record, Mississippi State has little to play for except to improve its seeding for the SEC Tournament. Nonetheless, Martin doesn’t expect the Bulldogs to just roll over and play dead for the Gamecocks.
“These last two games are going to be very hard and unbelievably difficult,” Martin said. “They all are at this time of the year because everybody understands their seasons are coming to a close. The sense of urgency is a little greater for everybody. We have to make sure we stay sharp and keep building on what we did last week.”
NOTES
-- The Gamecocks are No. 30 in the latest NCAA RPI through Sunday’s games. They remain the third highest ranked SEC team in the RPI behind Florida (No. 6) and Kentucky (7). The Wildcats defeated UF in Lexington on Saturday to take a one-game lead in the SEC standings. The SEC has two other teams in the RPI Top 50: Arkansas (31) and Vanderbilt (48). The Gamecocks have 12 top 100 RPI wins this season.
-- Gamecock opponents are averaging 18.4 turnovers per contest. Last Saturday, Tennessee committed 20 turnovers, marking the sixth SEC opponent that has committed at least 20 turnovers vs. USC in 2016-17. USC has forced at least 15 turnovers in every SEC game this season except Arkansas.
-- USC currently ranks second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.7 pct) and has held eight foes below 20 pct. from 3-point range and 16 opponents below 30 percent.
-- South Carolina leads the SEC in several defensive categories entering Tuesday’s matchup vs. MSU: scoring defense (64.4), FG pct. defense (39.5) and 3-point FG pct. defense (28.7). In addition USC is second in steals (7.8 per game).
-- USC is 14-3 at home this season, averaging 76.4 points per game and hitting 42.2 pct. from the field.
-- Senior Night festivities will begin at 6:40 p.m.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
USC: Sindarius Thornwell (21.0 ppg), Duane Notice (10.6), P.J. Dozier (1386), Hassani Gravett (3.6), Chris Silva (9.9).
MSU: Lamar Peters (11.3), Mario Kegler (10.3), Quinndary Weatherspoon (16.5), I.J. Ready (8.3), Aric Holman (8.3).
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Scoring Average: Sindarius Thornwell (21.0)
Total Points: Sindarius Thornwell (482)
Total Field Goals: Sindarius Thornwell (146)
Field Goal Pct: Chris Silva (.563)
3-Pointers: Duane Notice (57)
3-Pt Pct: Rakym Felder (43.9)
Free Throw Pct: Sindarius Thornwell (.849)
Total Rebounds: Sindarius Thornwell (169)
Defensive Rebounds: Sindarius Thornwell (109)
Offensive Rebounds: Maik Kotsar (62)
Assists: P.J. Dozier (82)
Turnovers: P.J. Dozier (59)
Blocks: Chris Silva (40)
Steals: Sindarius Thornwell (51)
Minutes: Duane Notice (947)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Feb. 28 MISSISSIPPI STATE, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)*
March 4 at Ole Miss, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)*
March 8-12 SEC Tournament (at Nashville)
(All Times Eastern)
* SEC Game
SEC SCHEDULE (Feb. 28-March 1)
Tues, Feb. 28
Mississippi State at South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Texas A&M at Missouri, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Wed., March 1
Auburn at Georgia, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Arkansas at Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Tennessee at LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Alt.)
Ole Miss at Alabama, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
SEC STANDINGS (As of Feb. 27)
Kentucky 14-2
Florida 13-3
Arkansas 11-5
South Carolina 11-5
Alabama 9-7
Ole Miss 9-7
Vanderbilt 9-7
Georgia 8-8
Tennessee 7-9
Texas A&M 7-9
Auburn 6-10
Mississippi State 5-11
Missouri 2-14
LSU 1-15
Road to Nashville: Seeding for the upcoming SEC Tournament (March 8-12) if the season ended today:
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. Arkansas (Wins Tiebreaker over USC)
4. South Carolina
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5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Vanderbilt
8. Georgia
9. Tennessee
10. Texas A&M
11. Auburn
12. Mississippi State
13. Missouri
14. LSU
Opening night matchups on March 8 would be Mississippi-State-Missouri and Auburn-LSU.
