Short-handed Gamecocks can’t keep pace with No. 19 Vols in Knoxville
Missing two starters on the road against No. 19 Tennessee, South Carolina’s makeshift lineup couldn’t contain Rick Barnes’ Volunteers on Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks (5-10, 3-8 SEC) lost their fourth straight game, weighed down by the same issues that have hindered them all season — turnovers, foul trouble and a lack of defensive cohesiveness.
Frank Martin’s team had its moments against the Vols, jumping out to a lead early in the first half and narrowing the deficit to seven points midway through the second. But Tennessee had an answer each and every time South Carolina made a run, defeating the Gamecocks, 93-73, in Knoxville.
“It was a (seven-point) game, and they just came down and scored,” Martin said. “And we committed some of the worst fouls I’ve ever seen anyone commit. Another big run that just does us in. We can’t stop the bleeding when it starts.”
3 Observations from USC-Tennessee
1. New faces on the court
With Jermaine Couisnard (ankle) and Justin Minaya (head) out for the game, Martin inserted forwards Keyshawn Bryant and Trey Anderson into the starting lineup. Bryant has served as a sixth man of sorts for Martin’s team, averaging 25.2 minutes and 14.1 points per game despite playing off the bench. He scored 15 points Wednesday but also committed a team-high seven turnovers.
Anderson was a starter in name only, ceding most of his minutes to forward Nathan Nelson. A 6-foot-7 junior, Nelson saw his most action of the season, by far. His playing time has gradually grown in recent games, and he’s shown a knack for making 3-pointers in situational moments. Martin said after Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss that Nelson had earned more playing time. But Nelson didn’t make much of an impact on the stat sheet Wednesday, with just one rebound and five points in a season-high 25 minutes played.
“Nathan’s been coming on,” Martin said. “He’s earned the right to get on the floor. He’s competitive. He gets to the right spot. He struggles rebounding the basketball because of athleticism ... but he battles in there and gets to the right place.”
Forward Tre-Vaughn Minott, who joined the team in January from NBA Academy Latin America, made his second appearance as a Gamecock and scored his first career basket — a hook shot in the low post. Martin said after the game that the Gamecocks “brought him here for a reason,” and he expects Minott to play more as he continues to improve his conditioning.
Without Couisnard in the backcourt, the Gamecocks leaned more on sophomores T.J. Moss and Trae Hannibal off the bench. Moss scored double-digit points for the first time this season, while Hannibal committed five turnovers.
2. Turnovers fuel Tennessee fast break
Unforced turnovers and sloppy ball-handling remain an issue for the Gamecocks, who committed 12 turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 16 Tennessee points. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, scored just two points off of turnovers in that first half.
With Tennessee excelling on the fast break, those turnovers helped the Vols pull away quickly at the tail end of the first half to build up an 11-point lead. Martin said his players tried to do too much and played “hero basketball,” which played right into the hands of a Tennessee defense that ranks third in Ken Pomeroy’s national defensive efficiency rankings.
“If you play hero ball ... they’re going to force you into some turnovers and bad shots,” Martin said. “And every time we turned it over, they made us pay.”
The Gamecocks finished with 18 turnovers overall.
3. Defensive woes and foul trouble
For the second straight game, the Gamecocks allowed an opponent to put up a career-high point total against them, as Tennessee guard Victory Bailey Jr. scored 29 points and made 7 of 10 3-point attempts.
Martin employed more zone looks into his defensive scheme on Wednesday, but it did little to derail the Vols, who shot 54.2% from the field and had four players score double-digit points.
“We play some zone, and the scouting report says, ‘find Victor Bailey,’ and we don’t find him,” Martin said. “And we stand there and watch him and let him keep shooting open 3 after open 3 after open 3, and he’s a real good player, and he made them. So bad communication and identification in the zone.
And then man-to-man we just got to toughen up. Toughen up isn’t ‘foul.’ We had some awful fouls today, like embarrassing fouls.”
Already playing short-handed, the Gamecocks didn’t help themselves by getting into foul trouble. Junior guard A.J. Lawson only played 11 minutes in the first half after he committed two early fouls, and he committed a third foul just three minutes into the second half. Both Jalyn McCreary and Hannibal reached four fouls early in the second half, as well, sending them to the bench.
Lawson’s absence was felt late in the first half as Tennessee build up its lead.
“It’s frustrating,” said Lawson, who still finished with a team-high 20 points. “I like to help guys out any way I can, and the fact I wasn’t because of foul trouble hurts a lot.”
Next USC basketball game
Who: South Carolina (5-10, 3-8 SEC) vs No. 20 Missouri (13-6, 6-6)
Where: Colonial Life Arena
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Watch: ESPN2
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 11:04 PM.
