Where South Carolina basketball showed the most growth in rout of Vanderbilt
South Carolina rolled Vanderbilt, 90-64, on Saturday in Colonial Life Arena. Here’s what we learned from USC’s most lopsided SEC win since the Gamecocks beat Tennessee by 27 on Feb. 25, 2017.
USC showed growth
No matter how favorable the matchup, South Carolina fans will likely approach each game this season with a slight sense of discomfort. The Gamecocks did this to them after head-scratching losses to Stetson and Boston University. Those results — to a pair of teams found deep in the triple digits of the NET rankings — are enough for maybe even the most loyal of supporters to lower expectations on a nightly basis. The latest performance probably won’t change that, but since the Stetson stinker on Dec. 30, Saturday’s stage was USC’s first real chance to show that it can indeed dominate an inferior opponent.
Vanderbilt is now a Kentucky trip away from setting a record for most consecutive SEC regular season losses (25). Like in 2018-19 under Bryce Drew, new Vandy coach Jerry Stackhouse is having to adjust on the fly after losing the Commodores’ best player. Drew didn’t have lottery pick Darius Garland after late November. Stackhouse hasn’t had SEC leading scorer Aaron Nesmith since earlier this month. Both injuries have led Vandy to the basement of the league. South Carolina (11-8, 3-3) on Saturday kept the Commodores (8-11, 0-6) down there. The Gamecocks were a 12-point favorite and led by at least that much for the final 15:50.
By the 2:17 mark, Frank Martin was able to empty his bench. With 18 seconds left, the crowd went nuts as freshman walk-on Mike Green made his first career 3-pointer.
These were scenes of an expected comfortable victory. It was nice for the Gamecocks to recreate them.
Jalyn McCreary’s stock continues to rise
Green included, every Carolina true freshman was noteworthy Saturday night. Trae Hannibal, recovered from an ankle sprain, turned in the most complete game of his young career — four points, four rebounds, three steals, five assists, no turnovers. Wildens Leveque scored in consecutive games for the first time since November. Martin said afterward that little-used Trey Anderson was almost given meaningful minutes because he’s “really starting to turn a corner” in practice.
But it was Jalyn McCreary who stood above the rest.
The highest ranked member of USC’s 2019 recruiting class — top 140 player according to Rivals — scored a career-high 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and had a block in 14 minutes. The 6-foot-7 McCreary has been trending toward this kind of performance for a couple weeks. He now has 27 points over his last four games. He had all of 33 points in the previous 12.
“My confidence has been building up during the season,” McCreary said. “I’m getting better in practice every day, just doing the right things and rebounding and doing the best I can to help our team. My confidence is really high right now.”
Concrete evidence can be seen at the free throw line. A lefty with an unorthodox stroke, McCreary has made 9 of 11 FTs in SEC play after going 3 of 16 in non-conference games. An emphasis on keeping an elbow under the ball has led to the improvement, Martin said. In other words, he’s coachable.
“I’m excited about his future,” Martin said.
Fouls continue to pile up
The season record for most free throws taken by South Carolina opponents is 983. That came over 34 games in 2013-14, an average of just under 29 a contest.
Through six SEC games in 2019-20, Gamecock opponents are averaging 31 free throws as USC has committed 151 fouls, by far the most of the 14 teams. (Alabama, at 126, is the second most foul-happy squad in the SEC.)
For the first time in the Martin era, South Carolina has gone three consecutive games with an opponent attempting at least 10 more free throws. Vandy took 35 Saturday to USC’s 24. The Gamecocks had an eye-popping nine players with two fouls at halftime.
“We’re getting a lot of hand-check fouls,” said redshirt sophomore swingman Justin Minaya. “We just got to do a better job of guarding the ball.”
NEXT
What: South Carolina at Arkansas
When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 8:56 AM.
