Another chance to bounce back from a tough loss presents itself this week for the South Carolina men’s basketball team.
South Carolina (12-12, 3-9 SEC) will head to Athens, Georgia to face the Bulldogs (16-8, 7-5 SEC) for the second time this season.
In their recent 77-43 loss to Kentucky, the Gamecocks struggled offensively and couldn’t handle Kentucky’s offensive attack, either.
Head coach Frank Martin was disappointed with the outcome on Saturday, but said he knew why his team had such a tough time.
“They out worked us, out ran us, out rebounded us, out screened us, out toughed us, so if we didn’t win any of those categories, it’s going to be hard to put up a good fight today.” Martin said.
As for the Bulldogs, they recently lost at home to Auburn in a heartbreaking 69-68 game. With this close of a loss, Georgia will look to bounce back while also trying to seek revenge against South Carolina, a team it lost to earlier in the season.
The first matchup between these two SEC teams occurred in Columbia, South Carolina on Jan. 31 with the Gamecocks winning 67-50. However, South Carolina will be away from Colonial Life Arena this time around. The Gamecocks are just 1-6 in true road games compared to Georgia’s home record of 11-2.
In the last encounter South Carolina was able to hold Georgia to a field goal percentage of 22 percent and the Bulldogs were forced to earn their points at the free throw line. Meanwhile, South Carolina made twice as many shots from the field as Georgia did and made six three-pointers.
South Carolina also had one of its more balanced performances on offense in its prior win against Georgia. Junior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius led the Gamecocks with 12 points, and three other players scored in double-digits.
South Carolina sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell concluded after the loss at Kentucky that the Gamecocks needed to “get the feel of the ball and the feel of the game back” before moving on.
Even after the Gamecocks struggles through conference play this season, Martin has continued to compliment Thornwell and says he thinks of Thornwell as a real asset to the team as a whole. Martin said he also likes the fact that Thornwell’s game seems to be progressing.
“He’s been playing better and better,” Martin said. “He’s the one guy on our team that hasn’t went away.”
As for the Bulldogs, the most impressive players from their earlier game against the Gamecocks include sophomore guard J.J. Frazier, who scored 16 points last time South Carolina and Georgia met, and junior guard Charles Mann, who added 14 points as well.
Georgia will have one if its most dynamic playmakers, senior forward Marcus Thornton, in use against the Gamecocks. Thornton missed the Bulldogs’ trip to Columbia earlier this season due to a concussion.
Throughout the season South Carolina has had a fair share of injuries and setbacks of its own, including freshman guard Marcus Stroman’s recent illness. Stroman, who is suffering from a throat infection, has missed South Carolina’s last two games and will not travel with the team to Georgia. After spending the past few days in the hospital, Stroman was released on Sunday and returned to classes on Monday.
“Recently I was asked who is the closest thing you have to a leader in you locker room and I said Marcus Stroman. He is a courageous young man and he’s your cosmic point guard.” Martin said. “Right now the only thing that matters is his health.”
With only six regular games remaining before the SEC tournament, South Carolina senior guard Tyrone Johnson says he wants the team to focus and have more faith in themselves.
“We’ve just got to believe in ourselves.” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to come in and work.”