The matchup taking centerstage against No. 1 Tennessee

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

Coming into the first matchup with No. 1 Tennessee, Frank Martin was concerned with the matchup between freshman Keyshawn Bryant and the Vols’ senior small forward Admiral Schofield.

He wasn’t wrong.

Schofield scored 24 points in a 90-72 Gamecock loss, and heading into the second matchup between these two teams Wednesday, that concern still persists.

“The matchup is not a schematic thing. One guy is 260 pounds and the other guy is 185 pounds,” Martin said. “One guy’s been in college; Schofield, when he was a freshman, he got his lumps on his head like Keyshawn’s gotten this year. But Schofield worked his tail off and turned himself into one of the better players in this conference. Keyshawn’s got to deal with it. We got to help him.”

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In the Jan. 29 matchup, Schofield dominated the matchup with Bryant, the Gamecock freshman who’s had a really solid season.

Schofield led the team with his 24 points and made nine of his 17 shots, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double.

Bryant was put in check, playing just 10 minutes after hyperextending his knee in practice before the game, and was held scoreless with just one rebound and a turnover.

Schofield is averaging 16.5 points this season and has scored in double figures in every game since his 24 against South Carolina.

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Since his first matchup against Schofield, Bryant is averaging 11.3 points per game, including 17 points the last time out against Arkansas.

Now he’s heading into his second game against the preseason First-Team All-SEC player with a little more experience under his belt and a better sense of what to expect.

He’ll have Monday and Tuesday practices before Wednesday’s game to get ready for another physical challenge of defending and trying to score against one of the better players in the SEC.

“We have to utilize today and tomorrow the best we can to get him up to speed so he can see,” Martin said. “It’s not just him; it’s everyone that matches up with Schofield. He’s a hard matchup at the three for most people. They understand what they try to do and we have to fight to defend it a little better.”

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The size difference is one of the biggest factors in why Schofield dominated the matchup last time. Bryant is listed at 6-foot-6, 190 pounds and is going up against Schofield, who’s the same height but a full 51 pounds heavier than the freshman.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, Bryant is getting advice from a seasoned veteran playing against physical bigs in the SEC: Chris Silva. Silva’s been helping Bryant make adjustments defensively this time around.

Silva had his fair share of struggles in his first few seasons adjusting to the play in the post, so he’s trying to impart the lessons he’s learned over a long career so far.

“Multiple times when Schofield was cutting, he was finding himself behind Schofield and that allowed Schofield to make a play right away and catch the ball,” Silva said. “It’s stuff like that as a freshman that I was making. The older guys were yelling at me, trying to make me understand this is how I play this time in the game or if they’re going to take advantage of you. I couldn’t figure it out. Now that I’m in the same spot, I try to tell them the same thing.”