Frank Martin’s Gamecocks drop a close one to Princeton. Here’s what went wrong
Playing on the road for the first time this season, Frank Martin’s South Carolina men’s basketball team had its hands full against Princeton in the inaugural Asheville Championship.
The Gamecocks fell to the Tigers 66-62 on Friday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center-Asheville in North Carolina. USC will face Western Kentucky at 5 p.m. Sunday after the Hilltoppers lost to Minnesota in Asheville earlier in the day.
Here’s what we learned from USC’s loss to Princeton.
Martin is still mixing and matching
As Martin learns the strengths and weakness of his six new transfer players and three freshmen, USC’s lineup and rotations are bound to evolve.
Martin went with the same starting five as he did in the season opener: veteran Jermaine Couisnard at point guard, guards James Reese and Erik Stevenson and forwards Wildens Leveque and Josh Gray.
That lineup seemed to be in sync early, as the Gamecocks jumped out to a 19-9 lead. But the Gamecocks unraveled in the final 10 minutes of the first half, allowing the Tigers to go on a 22-6 run.
Martin’s frustration mounted on the sideline as he tried combination after combination, especially in the frontcourt, where Martin rotated freshman Ta’Quan Woodley and Ja’Von Benson with Leveque and Gray. The Gamecocks were still missing transfer forward A.J. Wilson with a lower back injury suffered in the weight room, and Keyshawn Bryant is suspended for the next three games.
The freshman Woodley seems to have quickly earned Martin’s trust, as he was the first player off the bench for the second straight game.
Perimeter shooting is a problem
Martin said one of his goals during the offseason was to add more consistent shotmakers, something the Gamecocks lacked a year ago outside of A.J. Lawson.
Martin has talked up Reese, Stevenson and Chico Carter Jr. as shooters, but through two games, the Gamecocks have struggled to find any success from the 3-point line.
After making just four of 19 3-point attempts in the win over USC Upstate, USC was even worse against Princeton, making just three of 23 3-point attempts.
While Martin said after the USC Upstate game that he has confidence in his new shooters and knows their shots will eventually fall, the lack of production from deep has been an obvious area of weakness so far.
USC’s physicality needs to improve
One of the tenets of Martin’s coaching style is playing physical inside the paint, drawing fouls and going to the free-throw line.
In the first half Friday, the Gamecocks didn’t attempt a single free throw, and the big men on USC’s bench were frequent targets of Martin’s ire.
Coming out of halftime, USC appeared more physical and aggressive, with the Gamecocks getting to the line 14 times and Stevenson making all six of his free-throw attempts.
In one key sequence early in the half, Woodley gave the Gamecocks a two-point lead and drew a foul, bringing the entire USC bench to its feet. But it was too little too late for the Gamecocks, as they were unable to claw back.
Next USC men’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs Western Kentucky
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Harrah’s Cherokee Center-Asheville in Asheville, NC
Watch: ESPNU
Box score: Princeton 66, South Carolina 62
PRINCETON (1-0): Evbuomwan 3-8 6-11 12, Martini 2-5 1-2 6, Friberg 2-8 3-4 8, Llewellyn 5-9 2-3 16, E.Wright 1-3 2-2 5, Langborg 4-10 1-2 13, Allocco 1-1 0-0 2, Kellman 2-3 0-0 4, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Hooks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 15-24 66.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1): Leveque 6-6 0-3 12, Gray 1-2 0-0 2, Couisnard 7-18 0-0 17, Reese 2-12 0-0 5, Stevenson 4-18 6-6 14, Woodley 2-4 0-1 4, D.Carter 2-5 2-4 6, J.Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Benson 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 8-14 62.
Halftime—Princeton 31-25. 3-Point Goals—Princeton 11-31 (Llewellyn 4-8, Langborg 4-9, E.Wright 1-3, Martini 1-4, Friberg 1-5, Evbuomwan 0-2), South Carolina 4-26 (Couisnard 3-8, Reese 1-5, D.Carter 0-1, J.Wright 0-2, Stevenson 0-10). Rebounds—Princeton 33 (Evbuomwan 10), South Carolina 37 (Leveque 10). Assists—Princeton 15 (Evbuomwan 4), South Carolina 12 (Stevenson 5). Total Fouls—Princeton 19, South Carolina 25.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 11:33 PM.
