The Gamecocks lost to No. 23 Kentucky Saturday in a game that could have flexed South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament muscles. South Carolina (21-4, 8-4 conference) suffered the worst loss of the season thus far by a score of 89-62.
The last time Kentucky visited Colonial Life Arena, South Carolina game away with arguably the biggest victory of the 14-20 season. The Gamecocks started to pull away when Kentucky’s coach John Calipari received his second technical of the game and had to sit out for the last 10:23 of the game, ending the game 72-67 against the eventual NCAA National Champion Runner Ups.
It only took two and a half minutes of game time for John Calipari to hit the locker room this go around. After being assessed a technical by referee Doug Sirmons, coach Calipari stormed up to the referee in a fit of rage and received a second technical, disqualifying him for the game.
The Gamecocks stood strong against a motivated Wildcats team who had just seen their leader ejected. With the score of 5-2 in favor of Wildcats, the Gamecocks went on an 8-4 run to take the lead at 10-9.
Then things quickly got out hand.
South Carolina continuously hammered the paint, getting Kentucky's bigs in foul trouble early. Since senior Alex Poythress didn't dress for the game due to a knee injury, the Wildcats were thin down low and resorted to zone defense instead of their usual man-to-man. This tactic worked to stifle South Carolina’s offense. The Gamecocks couldn't hit any of their outside shots, making only two of seven from deep.
Kentucky, on the other hand, shot the ball well, hitting 45.5 percent from downtown.
The South Carolina ended the half down 41-27.
The second half wasn't any better for the Gamecocks. Kentucky sophomore Tyler Ulis was close to unstoppable, regardless of who was guarding him. He ended the game with a career high in both points and assists with 27 and 12, respectively.
South Carolina’s offense sputtered in the second half. For chunks of time, South Carolina failed to put up any points while Kentucky continued to make shots. Most notably, the Gamecocks had two-three minute droughts starting around the 17 and 10 minute marks. Senior Michael Carrera was the only saving grace for the Gamecocks, tallying up a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
With the loss, the Gamecocks drop down to second in the SEC, one game behind their afternoon opponent. South Carolina travels to the other Columbia to face Missouri.