Here’s everything you need to know about South Carolina’s first round opponent in the 2015 SEC tournament.
Opponent: Missouri (9-22, 3-15 SEC)
KenPom.com ranking: 205th out of 351
Last game: Missouri concluded its poor regular-season with a 52-43 loss on the road against Mississippi State last Saturday. The Tigers finished dead last in SEC playand their loss to the Bulldogs guaranteed them the fourteenth seed in the SEC tournament.
Best win: Wins have been few and far between for Missouri this season, but the Tigers managed to upset a struggling Florida team in late February to snap a 13-game losing streak, winning 64-52. Although the Gators have certainly underachieved after reaching the Final Four last season, they still have a lot of talent and Missouri had one of its best defensive performances of the year in the victory, holding Florida to just 39.6 percent shooting.
Last head-to-head matchup: South Carolina held on for a five-point victory at Colonial Life Arena against Missouri on Feb. 10, winning 65-60. The Gamecocks were led by sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, who scored 14 points while dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds.
Still, the Gamecocks allowed a 10-point first half advantage disappear, and Missouri held a lead a few minutes into the second halfbefore the Gamecocks eventually pulled away. Both teams struggled offensively, with Missouri making 42 percent of its shots from the field while South Carolina shot 37 percent.
The Gamecocks were able to out-rebound Missouri 39-32 and outscored the Tigers 20-13 in second chance points.
Senior guard Keith Shamburger led Missouri with 13 points.
Player to watch for: It’s no secret that Missouri has struggled to score this year, averaging just 60.7 points per game, 322nd nationally. That being said, sophomore forward Johnathan Williams has been a reliable scorer for the Tigers.
Williams puts up 12 points per game on average, and he’s scored in double-figures in nine of Missouri’s conference games. Williams is also Missouri’s leading rebounder with seven boards per contest. In Missouri’s loss to the Gamecocks earlier this season, Williams nearly recorded a double-double as he had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Head coach spotlight: Although this is the first year Missouri head coach Kim Anderson is leading a Division I program, he's anything but inexperienced. Anderson spent twelve seasons at the Division II level as the head coach of Central Missouri, where he won 2014 NCAA Championship. Anderson was hired by Missouri, his alma mater, in April 2014 after former Tiger head coach Frank Haith left for the same job at Tulsa.
Biggest weakness: Missouri doesn’t really excel at any particular aspect of the game, but its offense has been brutal this season. The Tigers average only 94.1 points per 100 possessions, 308th nationally.
Anderson’s team’s struggles can definitely be traced back to its youthfulness. Missouri is 307th in the country in KenPom.com’s experience metric, and it shows. Missouri shoots just 40.5 percent as a team and the Tigers are -1.9 in the turnover margin on average, as well.
How South Carolina can take advantage: Although South Carolina has struggled offensively for most of 2015, the Gamecocks have shot the ball well as of late and are playing better since their last matchup with the Tigers earlier this season. In its last three games, South Carolina is averaging 71.66 points per contest and is shooting 49.5 percent over that same stretch.
If South Carolina’s recent success on offense can carry into Wednesday’s game against Missouri, the Gamecocks should be too much for the Tigers to handle. Simply put, Missouri lacks the offensive firepower to compete in a high-scoring game. That's not to say South Carolina overwhelms any team with its offensive abilities, but the Gamecocks have started to gel over the past week and a half, and they'll be facing a Missouri team that gives up 68.1 points per game, third worst in the SEC.
With that said, it’s time to win or go home for both teams, so South Carolina should expect Missouri to come out competing. A fast start for the Gamecocks would force Missouri to play from behind, which would be key for South Carolina. The Tigers are 5-18 this season when trailing at halftime.