No. 22 Tennessee pulls away to top South Carolina in Knoxville. What went wrong
Close, but not close enough.
For a moment it seemed as though South Carolina might have the chance to shock No. 22 Tennessee on the road Tuesday night in Knoxville, as neither team managed to create any separation in a physical, ugly first half.
But Frank Martin’s Gamecocks (10-5, 1-2 SEC) couldn’t carry any momentum into the second half, and coach Rick Barnes and the Vols (11-4, 2-2) pulled away to deal USC a 66-46 loss.
Here’s what we learned.
A defensive battle
Both Tennessee and South Carolina are known for their physical, aggressive defenses. The Vols entered the night ranking third nationally in KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric and ranking second in the SEC with 61.7 points allowed per game.
Both teams lived up to their defensive billings early, as points were hard to come by in an ugly offensive first half.
The Vols applied constant pressure and clogged the passing lanes, forcing 12 Gamecocks turnovers in the first half and holding USC to 38% shooting. But South Carolina defense proved stingy as well, holding Tennessee without a field goal for the first five minutes of the game and holding the Vols to 41% shooting.
However, the wheels started falling off for the USC offense in the beginning of the second half, when the Gamecocks committed four turnovers in a 1:46 span to help the Vols establish a double-digit lead.
Martin had said this week that limiting turnovers would be key against the Tennessee defense, especially with the Gamecocks posting at least 20 turnovers in their last two games. But, yet again, turnovers bit the Gamecocks, with USC turning the ball over 23 times for the game.
“I’ve never been in this predicament where a team turns the ball over so many times,” Martin said after the game. “And part of it is just nonsense. It’s just lackadaisical passing, and we got to be a lot more assertive offensively.”
Reese carries the load for USC
Graduate transfer guard James Reese was one of the lone bright spots for the Gamecocks and one of the key reasons they remained competitive as long as they did Tuesday night.
Consistently praised by Martin as an elite defender, Reese was all over star Tennessee freshman guard Kennedy Chandler and helped limit the Vols’ leading scorer. Reese did the same against Vanderbilt star Scottie Pippen Jr. in USC’s weekend win.
Reese was also the only Gamecock who could score with any consistency, making three 3-pointers and leading the team with 15 points. No other Gamecock scored more than seven points in a difficult offensive outing marred by turnovers.
“If we didn’t have as many as self-inflicted wounds, we could have been in the game,” Reese said. “We didn’t just get beat. We kind of just beat ourselves and put ourselves in that position. So we just got to not put ourselves in that position again.”
Gamecocks big men struggle
Martin talks often about how he measures offensive success by how often the ball works its way into the paint. By that measure, the Gamecocks failed miserably on Tuesday.
Coming off five straight games of double-digit points, starting center Wildens Leveque didn’t score a field goal Tuesday.
And his supporting cast wasn’t any better. The big men — Leveque, A.J. Wilson, Josh Gray, Tre-Vaughn Minott, Ta’Quan Woodley — combined for just one point on 0-for-4 shooting. And as a team, the Gamecocks scored just 16 points in the paint, compared with 28 for Tennessee.
“Wildens didn’t play well,” Martin said. “Wildens probably had the first bad performance this year, not from an effort standpoint and caring. He just didn’t play well today. And very disappointing that no one else, none of the other big guys stepped up. They gave us nothing.”
Next USC men’s basketball
Who: South Carolina vs. Florida
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia
Watch: SEC Network
No. 22 Tennessee 66, South Carolina 46
SOUTH CAROLINA (10-5): Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Leveque 0-3 0-0 0, Couisnard 0-2 1-2 1, Reese 6-11 0-0 15, Stevenson 2-10 0-0 5, Wright 2-6 2-2 7, Bryant 2-6 1-1 5, D.Carter 1-2 1-5 4, Martin 2-4 0-0 4, Woodley 0-1 1-2 1, C.Carter 2-4 0-2 4, Gray 0-0 0-1 0, Minott 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 17-49 6-17 46.
TENNESSEE (11-4): Fulkerson 5-8 0-0 10, Nkamhoua 2-5 2-4 6, Chandler 2-7 3-8 8, James 3-6 3-4 11, Vescovi 5-12 2-5 14, Zeigler 5-8 0-0 11, Powell 0-0 0-0 0, Plavsic 0-3 0-2 0, Bailey 2-5 1-2 6, Huntley-Hatfield 0-1 0-0 0, Mashack 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 11-25 66.
Halftime—Tennessee 30-24. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 6-19 (Reese 3-6, D.Carter 1-1, Wright 1-3, Stevenson 1-6, Couisnard 0-1, Bryant 0-2), Tennessee 7-21 (James 2-4, Vescovi 2-9, Chandler 1-2, Bailey 1-3, Zeigler 1-3). Rebounds—South Carolina 33 (Stevenson 6), Tennessee 37 (James 12). Assists—South Carolina 10 (Couisnard, Wright 3), Tennessee 15 (Vescovi 5). Total Fouls—South Carolina 20, Tennessee 18. A—15,262 (21,678).
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 8:36 PM.
