South Carolina men face steep test at No. 22 Tennessee. How to watch, what to know
When Vanderbilt star Scotty Pippen Jr. failed to get a shot off in the final seconds of Saturday’s game, the South Carolina men’s team emptied the bench and spilled out onto the Memorial Gymnasium court to celebrate.
The elation was real following a gritty 72-70 win in Nashville, especially with the Gamecocks coming off a tough home loss to Auburn to open the Southeastern Conference slate.
But those good feelings can only last so long in conference play. Now an even tougher challenge awaits in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, where the Gamecocks (10-4, 1-1 SEC) will take on Rick Barnes’ No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (10-4, 1-2).
The Vols are coming off a road loss to LSU, but their season resume speaks for itself with wins over a top 10 Arizona team and then-ranked North Carolina.
“We got to now regroup and go on the road and play ... what I think is one of the top 10 to 12 teams in the country in Tennessee,” Frank Martin said Monday. “Definitely one of the top two or three defensive teams in the country, so we got our work cut out for us.”
Here are key storylines for the game.
What to expect from the Vols
Martin called Tennessee one of the top two or three defensive teams in the country, and the numbers bear that out.
The Vols rank third nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.com, a stat that measures points allowed per 100 possessions. In the SEC, Tennessee ranks second in scoring defense with 61.7 points allowed per game.
“Rick Barnes is a great coach,” USC guard James Reese said. “We just got to be ready for a lot of ball screen coverages. I think they play pack-line defense, so they’re gonna be in the gaps a lot.”
On the offensive end, the Vols rank seventh out of 14 SEC teams in scoring and slot in at 53rd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency. Last season in Knoxville, guard Victor Bailey Jr. and forward John Fulkerson did most of the damage against the Gamecocks, scoring 29 points and 19 points, respectively in a 93-73 Vols win.
Both players remain with the Vols, but much of this year’s offense runs through guards Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi, who both average nearly 14 points per game and are the top 3-point shooters on the team.
Gamecocks must limit turnovers and fouls
Minutes after the Gamecocks put away Vanderbilt on Saturday, Martin expressed disappointment in his players’ 23 turnovers and the fact that they sent Vandy to the free-throw line 36 times.
The Gamecocks shot 55% as a team and held Vanderbilt to 39% from the field, but without the fouls and turnovers, the game likely wouldn’t have been nearly as close.
Turnovers have been a bugaboo of late for the Gamecocks, especially after COVID-19 issues and injuries disrupted practice and took a handful of players away from the team. But the Gamecocks have played with a full roster in the last two games, and Martin said he expects every player to be available at Tennessee.
Martin said limiting turnovers comes down to patience, as the Gamecocks — who feature nine new players — continue to learn the system and each other’s tendencies. Reese echoed that sentiment.
“I think some of our turnovers are coming off us just being in the wrong spots, or just the floor spacing not being how it should be,” Reese said. “I feel like once we figure the floor spacing out and just try to go with the safe play and not the extravagant plays, we’ll take a couple turnovers off our total turnovers.
“Tennessee is not the team you want to have 20 turnovers against, especially at Tennessee because they thrive in transition. They have two point guards (that) play at a very high level in transition that’s going to push the ball, so we want to just limit them from getting up and down as much as possible.”
The Gamecocks have posted at least 20 turnovers in back-to-back games. Because they play at a fast tempo (29th in adjusted tempo on KenPom.com), some turnovers are to be expected, but Martin said he’d like to see the number come down to nine or 10 turnovers a game.
Wildens Leveque on a tear
When Martin-coached teams are operating at their peak, the basketball finds its way into the paint often, and the big men finish near the rim.
Outside of starting junior center Wildens Leveque, the Gamecocks don’t have a go-to scorer in the post, which makes Leveque one of the more important pieces to the USC puzzle.
In the backcourt, guards like Reese, Erik Stevenson, Devin Carter and Jermaine Couisnard have shown they can take over as scorers at any time. But there’s been much less consistency out of big men Josh Gray, Ta’Quan Woodley, Tre-Vaughn Minott and Ja’Von Benson, all of whom have flashed potential but lack polish.
Martin has praised Leveque often this season for the way he’s worked in practice and has called him the backbone of the team. Though he sat out two games due to COVID-19 protocol, Leveque has scored double-digit points in five straight games, and he ranks third on the team with 10.5 points per game.
While he’s shown progression in his junior season, both Martin and Leveque agree that there’s more in the tank.
“I really want to just understand the game a bit more, understand reads, understand how to score the ball and just be a complete player and learn more about my game and learn more about my abilities,” Leveque said. “And I feel like that will happen, and I’m excited.”
How to watch USC men’s basketball at Tennessee
Who: South Carolina at No. 22 Tennessee
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee
Watch: SEC Network
