SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

It's been a start that South Carolina players and fans probably didn't expect through the first 10 games, with the Gamecocks two games above .500.

The Gamecocks are starting a tough stretch of games now, and before they get kickstarted with that, a look at the good and bad statistically through the first third of the season.

The Gamecocks currently sit at 6-4 and are currently ranked the No. 109th-best team in the country based off of KenPom's algorithm. That ranking is good enough for 13th in the SEC currently, ahead of Vanderbilt (No. 122 and Texas A&M (No. 142).

Also see: What we learned from Sunday's Houston loss

For how much the Gamecocks have struggled at times this year, their stats aren't bad right now outside of a few shooting metrics with the best either being good or right around the NCAA average.

The ones they're not great with is effective field goal percentage, which measures efficiency and players taking and hitting high-percentage shots, is at 47.2 percent good for 239rd nationally.

Their 27.2 three-point percentage is No 323rd out of 353 teams and they're one of just 21 teams to be shooting 60 percent or lower from the free throw line. Their opponent FTA/FGA, which measures how many free throws a team takes per 100 trips down the floor is 44, which is No. 332 in the country.

That means opponents are shooting 44 free throws for every 100 offensive possessions, which means extra points for the oppositions.

But, the Gamecocks are doing some things well to start the year, and some things really well.

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They're both midd-of-the-road in both offensive (102.0 points per 100 possessions) and defensive (96.7) efficiencies but are holding teams to a 45 effective field goal percentage, good for 55th-best in the country and they're a top 50 team on the offensive glass with a 34 offensive rebound rate.

South Carolina's defense is getting blocks with the 27th-best block rate in the nation, swatting 14.8 percent of blockable shots.

The Gamecocks' 7.4 steal rate offensively is another stat they rank in the top 50 in, which means they're not getting the ball stolen from them and they're a top 100 team in offensive turnover rate at 17.7 percent, which means on the whole turnovers are relatively low.

They're getting 62 percent of their points inside the arc, sixth-highest percentage in the country, but just 20.7 percent from three.

Also see: Instant analysis from Sunday's loss

It is important to keep in mind the Gamecocks average experience is 1.08 years, which is 328th out of 353 teams in Division I college basketball. The only younger teams in the SEC are Kentucky (0.95 years) and Florida (0.96 years).

In terms of individual performances, they do have some solid solo contributions.

AJ Lawson is top 100 nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.1) and has a team-best 113.7 offensive rating.

Lawson ranks in the top 500 among all Division I basketball players in offensive rating, percentage of possessions used, percentage of shots taken while on the floor, true shooting percentage, assist rate, turnover rate, free throw rate and free throw percentage.

The Gamecocks are in the middle of a potentially season-defining stretch that started Sunday in a loss to Houston but includes road games against Clemson, No. 9 Virginia and No. 19 Tennessee and home contests against Florida and No. 8 Kentucky.

They travel to Clemson Sunday for a 5 p.m. contest. Below is a full breakdown of the team's individual performances.