After a win last Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks, South Carolina men's basketball will look to pull off a feat it hasn’t accomplished since the 2009-10 season against Kentucky: defeat the number one team in the nation.
South Carolina (12-11, 7-3 SEC) will take on No. 1 Tennessee (22-1, 10-0 SEC) in its second meeting with the Volunteers this season. The two teams met just two weeks ago at Colonial Life Arena as South Carolina fell to Tennessee, 92-70.
The Volunteers are on an astounding 18-game win streak, having not lost since Nov. 23 to the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Tennessee’s last win came last Saturday against Florida at home as the Volunteers defeated the Gators for the second time this season, 71-63. The Gamecocks also defeated the Gators earlier this season in Gainesville, Florida, in a last-second thriller, 71-69.
The Volunteers’ recent success on the court is largely attributed to their field goal percentage, which is second in the nation at 51.6 percent, only behind No. 3 Gonzaga at 52.8 percent.
Tennessee’s shooting game against South Carolina was a major factor in the Gamecocks' loss to the number one team as the Volunteers were able to shoot 56.3 percent from the field, as opposed to the Gamecocks' 40.4 percent.
However, the South Carolina defense has been able to better contest its opponents’ shots since then, as they have only allowed teams to shoot an average of 40.06 percent in their last three games against Georgia, Kentucky and Arkansas.
The Gamecocks and head coach Frank Martin will look to stop a few players that caused problems for South Carolina, including Volunteers junior guard Jordan Bone who recorded 19 points and nine assists against the Gamecocks and senior guard Admiral Schofield who led the team with 24 points.
“[Bone] got that ball downhill and into the paint way too easy and too much,” Martin said. “That’s what he does.”
On the other end, the Volunteers and head coach Rick Barnes will look to continue to stop Gamecock senior forward Chris Silva. Tennessee was able to hold him to just six points in the second half, despite Silva scoring 22 points in the first half alone two weeks ago against the Volunteers.
The Gamecocks and Volunteers will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, with the game being televised on the SEC Network.