Frank Martin’s Gamecocks open year with win over USC Upstate. Here’s what we learned
After months of talking about a culture reset and the return of physical, aggressive basketball, Frank Martin’s revamped South Carolina men’s team finally had the chance to show what it can do on the court.
Hosting USC Upstate for the regular season opener Tuesday night, the Gamecocks defeated the Spartans 78-60, setting a positive tone to the season as USC looks to bounce back from last year’s difficult 6-15 campaign.
Here’s what we learned from USC’s season-opening win.
The starting lineup is heavy on veterans
With nine new players on this year’s roster, the starting lineup coming into Tuesday’s opener was somewhat of a mystery.
Martin opted to go with a veteran group, starting junior Jermaine Couisnard at point guard and fleshing out the backcourt with transfer guards James Reese and Erik Stevenson, both of whom quickly emerged as leaders over the summer and played well in last week’s exhibition.
Martin rounded out the lineup with returning starter Wildens Leveque and 7-foot LSU transfer Josh Gray.
Couisnard and Leveque each led the way for the Gamecocks, scoring 14 points each.
The freshmen played early and often
Last season, forward Keyshawn Bryant was typically the first player to come off the Gamecocks bench, giving USC a jolt with his dunking ability and athleticism.
With Bryant suspended for the first five games of the season due to a violation of athletic department policy, Martin turned instead to 6-foot-8 freshman forward Ta’Quan Woodley to provide that spark.
Checking in three minutes into the game, Woodley scored six points in the first half, making three of four field-goal attempts and pulling down four boards in a productive seven minutes.
Fellow freshmen Jacobi Wright and Devin Carter, both guards, entered the game soon after. Wright was the next man up at point guard as he appears to have quickly earned Martin’s trust in running the offense. Carter, who has drawn praise from the coaching staff for his scoring ability, finished with six points.
Gamecocks dominate the paint, struggle outside
Compared to the exhibition, when the Gamecocks shot a whopping 57% from the field, the shots were harder to come by Tuesday. That was especially the case from the perimeter, where USC made just four of 19 attempts (21%).
Fortunately for the Gamecocks, USC found consistent success in the paint by using its size advantage to bully the Spartans inside. The Gamecocks outscored USC Upstate 42-20 in the paint and out-rebounded the Spartans 52-34, including a 17-3 advantage on the offensive boards.
The veteran Leveque led the way with 14 points and eights rebounds, building off a strong finish to last season and coming on strong in the second half. Coming off a double-double in USC’s exhibition, Gray earned the start and was a physical presence all game long, connecting with Couisnard on an alley-oop in the first half and throwing down an explosive slam late in the game.
Meanwhile, both the freshman Woodley and sophomore Ja’Von Benson showed well off the bench, with Woodley finished with eight points and Benson pulling down eight rebounds.
Next USC men’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs Princeton
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Harrah’s Cherokee Center-Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina
Watch: ESPNEWS
South Carolina vs USC Upstate box score, stats
SC-UPSTATE (0-0): Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Gainey 5-9 0-0 11, White 1-3 1-2 4, Alves 0-4 1-2 1, Mozone 7-15 2-4 20, Breazeale 6-8 4-4 17, Watson 0-1 2-8 2, Goodloe 2-7 1-2 5, Aldrich 0-0 0-0 0, Langlais 0-1 0-0 0, Hodge 0-1 0-0 0, Rideau 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 11-22 60.
SOUTH CAROLINA (0-0): Leveque 4-8 6-10 14, Gray 3-6 0-2 6, Couisnard 5-12 3-3 14, Reese 4-9 0-0 9, Stevenson 3-13 2-2 9, D.Carter 3-9 1-2 7, Woodley 5-6 0-0 10, Wright 1-5 0-0 3, Benson 1-4 0-0 2, C.Carter 1-3 2-2 4, Minott 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 14-21 78.
Halftime—South Carolina 43-34. 3-Point Goals—SC-Upstate 7-18 (Mozone 4-9, Gainey 1-1, White 1-2, Breazeale 1-3, Goodloe 0-3), South Carolina 4-19 (Reese 1-3, Wright 1-3, Couisnard 1-4, Stevenson 1-7, D.Carter 0-2). Fouled Out—Woodley. Rebounds—SC-Upstate 31 (Gainey 7), South Carolina 45 (Leveque, Gray, Benson 8). Assists—SC-Upstate 11 (Mozone 4), South Carolina 10 (Couisnard 7). Total Fouls—SC-Upstate 21, South Carolina 17.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 8:59 PM.
