When: 8 p.m. today

Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia

TV: SportSouth

Tickets: Available at the box office

Ole Miss' probable starters: G David Huertas 6-5 Jr. (19.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg); G Zach Graham 6-6 So. (7.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg); G Terrico White 6-5 Fr. (9.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg); F DeAundre Cranston 6-9 Jr. (3.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg); F Malcolm White 6-9 So. (5.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

South Carolina's probable starters: G Devan Downey 5-9 Jr. (19.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg); G Zam Fredrick 6-0 Sr. (16.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg); F Dominique Archie 6-7 Jr. (11.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg); F Sam Muldrow 6-9 So. (3.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg); F/C Mike Holmes 6-7 So. (11.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg)

Notes: South Carolina attempts to rise above .500 in the SEC after a stirring win over No. 24 Florida in its last game. ... The Gamecocks have beaten Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy during each of his two years at the school and also handed him a loss when he was Cincinnati's coach. ... The home team has won 15 of the 17 games between the two, Ole Miss has won eight of the past 13 and the all-time series is tied at 12. The Gamecocks lead 7-1 in Columbia. ... This is the first time since the 2004-05 season that USC has won at least two of its first four SEC games. ... Rebels reserve forward Murphy Holloway is an Irmo native who played at Dutch Fork High School. He won the Mr. Basketball award last year and leads Ole Miss in rebounding. He also played with Downey, Fredrick and Holmes in AAU ball. ... Downey and Huertas are the second- and third-leading scorers in the SEC.

Next game: USC hosts Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

The excitement and hype are over. South Carolina's players have had a couple of days to get used to the lavish attention paid to their thrilling win over Florida.

Hopefully.

"They better be," coach Darrin Horn said during Friday's press conference, previewing tonight's game hosting Ole Miss. "They better be. Last I checked we hadn't accomplished anything. We've got, what, 12 league games left, an extremely tough opponent coming in (tonight) that is very dangerous."

It seemed fitting. Horn didn't show much emotion outside of a long hug for guard Zam Fredrick after Fredrick sunk the winning layup at the buzzer to beat the No. 24 Gators three days ago. He preached in the post-game about how important it was to enjoy the win for the night but report back to practice the next day ready to forget about it.

Simply put, in the words of former U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, the Gamecocks don't have enough talent to win on talent alone. It takes something extra.

Like concentration. Motivation. Determination. Anything to get USC to realize beating Florida was great, but it means absolutely nothing without it being a stepping stone, instead of a milestone.

The Gamecocks (13-4, 2-2 SEC) have a chance tonight to get back on the plus side of the won-loss ledger and one of the worst teams in the SEC by record, Ole Miss, is on the other side. Horn seemed to be saying that although beating Florida on a perfect play was grand, it's maybe a ripple in the wave pool of getting USC to where it really wants to be.

"You look at Ole Miss, they're a dangerous basketball team," Horn said. "They've got two explosive guards, they've got bigs that can put it on the floor and make plays."

In short, don't look at the Rebels' 10-8 (1-3) record and think you've got them figured out.

"I think it stopped when we got to the locker room," forward Dominique Archie said. "Everybody was happy for the win but we knew it was only one win."

The Rebels enter the game having lost two straight in the SEC and having never beaten USC under coach Andy Kennedy. Three members of their backcourt are on the injured list and their coach is fighting a wave of bad publicity.

But Ole Miss is trouble. Like Florida, the Rebels have a lean and long lineup, their guards standing at 6-foot-5, 6-6 and 6-5. Like Florida, the Rebels have the tendency to cut backdoor and shred the Gamecocks' defense with easy baskets.

USC is hoping that, like Florida, the game tonight will turn into a win.

The Gamecocks know that lightning probably won't strike twice, though, so they're trying to put the Florida win in the past and concentrate on the present.

"They play basketball," Archie said, stating the obvious.

USC does too. While it had its share of problems against Florida, USC kept the game close enough where a bit of luck paid off with the preparation previous to it.

That would be welcome again. But a comfortable win would be even more pleasant.

"Get right back to work, keep doing the little things that gave us the opportunity to win the game," Horn said.