South Carolina-Arkansas basketball at SEC tournament: How, what to watch in Nashville
South Carolina (18-13) faces Arkansas (20-12) on Thursday in Nashville at the SEC Tournament. Tipoff is around 9:30 p.m.; broadcast is on the SEC Network.
Here are some storylines to watch for the game.
Maik or no Maik
The Gamecocks have relied on Maik Kotsar as a defensive anchor and at times offensive savior. He might be out after hurting his shoulder in practice earlier this week.
Without him, USC coach Frank Martin said the defense shouldn’t change all that much, although the team will be lacking its least foul-prone and most mobile big man. It’s more on the offensive end where things might change.
The Gamecocks’ offense often builds around Kotsar’s work on drives and his 15-foot jumpers. None of the other bigs are close to as consistent on those shots. Martin said he spent the flight out Tuesday and the evening after concocting some changes to take advantage of Justin Minaya likely starting in his place.
Free throw city
The Gamecocks by at least one metric put their opponents on the free throw line more than any other team. It has allowed four teams to put up 40 such shots in a game.
The Razorbacks are among the 10 best teams in the country at bullying their way to the line, led by power guards Mason Jones and Jimmy Whitt.
Solving that starts with better guard play, limiting drives and staying in front of opposing ball handlers. Losing Kotsar would also hurt, as the rest of South Carolina’s bigs are foul-prone.
Fight for survival
South Carolina is all but eliminated from NCAA at-large contention, owing to a low win total and only a modest number of Quad 1 victories. That likely has them headed to the NIT unless they win four games in four days in Nashville.
The Gamecocks have yet to reach the SEC tournament semifinals under Martin, something he wants to change. The program itself has only even made it to the title game twice, once getting blown out by an eventual national title-winning Kentucky team and once pushing a Florida team to the brink before the Gators won a title.
A win Thursday means a date with LSU and its hyper-efficient offense, but first comes the challenge right ahead.
Game info
Who: South Carolina (18-13) vs Arkansas (20-12)
When: Approx. 9:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Bridgestone Arena
TV channel: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
