Absences mount as South Carolina drops sixth in a row. What went wrong
The losses keep piling up.
Once again playing with a short-handed roster, the South Carolina men’s basketball team dropped its sixth consecutive game on Wednesday night at Mississippi State, falling to the Bulldogs, 69-48.
The six-game streak matches the longest losing streak for the Gamecocks (5-12, 3-10 SEC) under head coach Frank Martin.
“Right now, we got a lot of voices but not a lot of substance,” Martin said. “Losing is something that you have to fight. In moments like this, leadership has to show its face really, really hard. .... Right now, we’re searching for it.”
3 Observations from USC-Mississippi State
1. Woods, Hannibal don’t travel
There was some good news on the injury front for the Gamecocks, as sophomore guard Jermaine Couisnard returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games.
However, that news was overshadowed by the surprising absence of guards Seventh Woods and Trae Hannibal, neither of whom traveled with the team to Starkville.
Woods, the team’s starting point guard, injured his head during practice this week.
No detail was given for Hannibal’s absence other than Martin telling SEC Network announcers that Hannibal “needed the day off.” The sophomore guard was coming off a career-high 15-point game in USC’s loss to Missouri.
After the game, Martin declined to provide specifics.
“I just gave him a day off,” Martin said. “I believe that’s what was released. I gave him a day off. It’s been a hard year, hard moment, hard stretch, and I just gave him a day off.”
With Woods out, sophomore T.J. Moss earned the start at point guard, with Couisnard playing behind him.
Moss scored seven points, tallied four assists and turned the ball over four times. Couisnard shot 1 for 8 from the field and played 20 minutes in his return.
2. Bulldogs dominate inside
Most teams have had a size advantage against USC this year, as the Gamecocks lost their most experienced big man in Alanzo Frink for the season and have played with a smaller lineup.
But no team has bullied South Carolina inside the paint as much as Mississippi State did on Wednesday.
Behind 6-foot-11 Abdul Ado and 6-foot-10 Tolu Smith, the Bulldogs out-rebounded South Carolina 49-24, and outscored South Carolina in the paint 38-20.
Martin said he’s never been part of a team that was out-rebounded by 25 and — as he has most of the season — he pointed to a lack of physicality from the Gamecocks.
“You don’t get out-rebounded by 25 and say you played physical,” Martin said. “I don’t care how big they are. I would’ve fouled out. I’d clothesline somebody if I was playing, and I’m the most un-athletic human being ever created. But I wouldn’t stand there and continue to allow them to rebound and get out of the way.”
Smith finished with a game-high 13 rebounds and scored nine points, while the long-limbed Ado scored 11 points, grabbed eight boards and blocked three shots.
3. Shots don’t fall
The Gamecocks had one of their worst shooting performances of the season, shooting 29% (18-for-62) from the field and 19% (4-for-21) from the 3-point line.
“We just couldn’t make shots when it comes down to it,” said junior forward Keyshawn Bryant, who led the team with 14 points.
After averaging nearly 20 points a game, USC guard A.J. Lawson finished with 10 points, combining with Justin Minaya to go 2 for 11 from the 3-point line.
The Gamecocks had ample opportunities to score, with the Bulldogs turning the ball over 21 times. But USC managed to turn those 21 turnovers into just four fast-break points.
That’s one area where the absence of Woods and Hannibal could have been felt. They’ve been USC’s two most reliable players at the point guard position.
“Open-court basketball is all guard play,” Martin said. “You got to get in the open court, which means defensively you’ve got to create those opportunities. And we turn them over 21 times, and we can’t ever get in the open court off of 21 turnovers. And that goes back to guard play and being able to make decisions.”
Next USC basketball game
Who: South Carolina (5-12, 3-10 SEC) at Georgia (14-9, 7-9)
Where: Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 8:58 PM.
