The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Sports

Carolina hopes to continue its hot streak on Saturday.

For the first time since conference play began, the men's basketball team has shown promise with consecutive SEC wins last week. With the whole week to recoup from a grueling game against Ole Miss, Dave Odom's squad should have ample time to prepare for Saturday's game.

In last weekend's upset, in front of an arduous Mississippi crowd, Dominique Archie drilled a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to clinch the road victory. Despite Archie's late-game heroics, the true impact player was Devan Downey, who led the team with 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.

The Gamecocks (11-10, 3-4) host No. 22 Vanderbilt (19-4, 4-4) in an early evening game on Saturday, as tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Commodores are coming off a road win against Georgia and have been inconsistent during conference play.

Even though Vanderbilt has accrued a solid record and a top 25 ranking, they are yet to beat a ranked team this year, and their SEC wins came against Georgia, Auburn, LSU and South Carolina.

In their first meeting this year, the Gamecocks were losing by two points with less than two minutes remaining, but they let the game slip away. The loss was part of a painful stretch where South Carolina lost five of six games.

Expect Downey to once again be the main contributor this weekend, as he is averaging nearly 20 points per game in his first year as a Gamecock. Zam Fredrick and Archie will doubtless have a considerable impact on the Gamecocks' offense as well.

These three crafty players must use their superior athleticism to create opportunities in the opposition's defense.

The Commodore offense is led by senior guard Shan Foster, who is averaging 19 points per game so far this season. Along with Foster, Vanderbilt is anchored by freshman center A.J. Ogilvy, who is averaging 17 points and six rebounds.

South Carolina needs to extend their winning streak to sustain momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. The Gamecocks are currently seventh in the SEC standings, but they have the opportunity to make a jump with a big win this weekend.

Following the home game on Saturday, Odom and company travel to Athens, Ga., for their second meeting against the Georgia Bulldogs.

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