 "Photo: Courtesy of Benjamin Hicks at The Daily Reveille")
Coming into last night's game against the LSU Tigers, the USC men's basketball team had their work cut out for them. Facing the tall, athletic Tigers on the road at the Pete Maravich Center, where LSU has won 15 straight games, certainly posed a tough challenge for the Gamecocks.
However, the Gamecocks would only make things tougher for themselves. Sloppy defensive play and 14 missed free throws left them struggling to keep up with the Tigers in an 85-68 loss.
"We got off to a really poor start, and it started with being really bad defensively early," USC coach Darrin Horn said. "When you're on the road, the two things you have to make sure you do are defend and take care of the basketball, and we didn't do either one of those things well tonight."
The Gamecocks tried several different defenses in their attempt to slow the LSU attack, but all were unsuccessful. The Tigers consistently broke USC's press, creating easy layups in transition. When the Gamecocks tried a zone defense, LSU took advantage by sinking open jump shots.
USC wasn't much better on the offensive side. Star point guard Devan Downey struggled for much of the game, committing a game-high eight turnovers. The Gamecocks also had 10 shots blocked.
What really hurt USC's chances was free throw shooting. The Gamecocks shot a dismal 8-for-22 from the line, including a 2-for-11 effort in the first half. According to Horn, USC's free throw struggles were mostly a product of poor focus.
"More than anything it's mental," Horn said. "It seemed like when those first two [free throws] didn't go in, everybody that went to the line was thinking about the last guy that shot, and those are the things that we have to grow at as a team is playing the next play and staying focused on the little things."
The Gamecocks will need to work on their free throw shooting and defense if they hope to make a run in the SEC this year. So far this season, no SEC teams have really stood out as better than the rest, meaning the Gamecocks can expect to play in a lot of close games.
Staying out of foul trouble will also be a key for the Gamecocks' SEC hopes. USC committed 26 fouls against LSU, with sophomore forwards Mike Holmes and Sam Muldrow both fouling out of the game. With one of the shortest benches in the league, the Gamecocks will have a hard time winning games if they can't limit their fouls.
All is not lost for USC, however. Despite their struggles against LSU, the Gamecocks hung with the Tigers in the second half. Junior forward Dominique Archie fought through an ankle injury to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds, showing the kind of effort and determination the Gamecocks will need throughout their SEC schedule. If USC can improve its free throw shooting and show better effort on defense, they will be tough to beat.
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