The Daily Gamecock

South Carolina beats Syracuse behind Dozier, defense

In its second matchup versus a top 25 opponent this week, South Carolina was able to beat the No. 18 Syracuse Orange 64-50 due in large part to its suffocating man-to-man defense.

The Orange looked uncomfortable all afternoon, as the players seemed unable to get into their offensive sets and were forced to play at a much slower pace than they normally do.

Leading scorer Andrew White came into the game averaging 17.3 points a game through Syracuse’s first four games, while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from three. Yet the Gamecocks were able to hold him to just 10 points on the night, giving him very little room to shoot, resulting in him shooting just one of five from three-point range.

The Syracuse team as a whole came into the game shooting 52 percent from the field through four games, yet the Gamecock defense was able to hold them to just 32 percent on the night. This comes three days after the Gamecocks held Michigan to an abysmal 19 percent from the field.

South Carolina was led by PJ Dozier, who played arguably the best game of his career. He scored 15 points on the night, while also adding 10 rebounds.

More so than raw stats, Dozier’s impact was greatest in cracking Syracuse’s 2-3 zone. Head coach Frank Martin used Dozier everywhere to attack the zone: sometimes having him up top, other times on the wing, and even occasionally flashing to the high post.

Dozier’s size allowed him to see over the top of the 2-3, enabling him to dissect the defense from the top of the key. The Syracuse defenders were unable to sag off him to stop this, as he opened the game with an early three-pointer that forced the Orange defenders to stay up on him for the rest of the game.

Sindarius Thornwell and Maik Kotsar were also huge for South Carolina, both scoring 16 points and shooting over 50 percent from the field.

The Gamecocks never trailed on the night, and seemed to control the pace of the game, and the game as a whole, from start to finish.

This game came on the heels of last season's dramatic ending, where many claimed that the 19-win Orange were wrongly given the last bid to the NCAA Tournament over the 24-win Gamecocks. Syracuse would end up going to the Final Four where they eventually lost to North Carolina.

The Gamecocks return to action Thursday at home against Vermont where they will look to continue their hot start to the season and bring their record to 6-0. 


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