South Carolina’s winning streak snapped at Mississippi State. What went wrong
There would be no second-half magic in Starkville.
After three straight wins fueled by second-half comebacks, the South Carolina men’s basketball team dug itself in too deep a hole Tuesday night at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (14-7, 5-3 SEC) dominated from the tip, defeating USC 78-64.
“They came in here on edge and defended and brought a physicality to the game,” head coach Frank Martin said. “That’s all we talked to about our players is the physicality that they play with, and we didn’t do a very good job of answering the bell from from that standpoint. And they dictated the game offensively and defensively, and you can’t do that on the road against good teams and expect to win.”
Following the loss, South Carolina (13-8, 4-5) will return home for consecutive home matchups against top SEC teams Tennessee and Kentucky.
Here’s what went wrong for USC on Tuesday night.
USC throttled in the paint
There was nothing South Carolina could do to stop veteran big man Garrison Brooks, who scored a season-high 18 points — 17 by halftime.
USC’s post play has been an area of weakness in SEC play with veteran forward Wildens Leveque slumping in recent weeks, and with newcomers Josh Gray and A.J. Wilson showing sporadic flashes of effectiveness. That weakness was glaring on Tuesday night. Leveque sat on the bench for the bulk of the first half after committing two early fouls, and the rest of USC’s frountcourt was powerless against Brooks and the Bulldogs on the glass.
The Bulldogs doubled USC in rebounds in the first half 22 to 11 and outscored USC 24-10 in the paint. The Bulldogs finished the game with a 40-23 rebound advantage.
It’s worth nothing that for the second straight game, USC was short-handed in the paint, with freshman big man Ta’Quan Woodley sitting due to the birth of his daughter.
Offense struggles against set defense
In recent games, the Gamecocks have gone on runs by creating on the defensive end, forcing turnovers and racing down the court to score in transition.
Against Mississippi State, however, USC failed to create fast-break opportunities and USC’s offense looked noticeably sluggish against MSU’s half-court defense.
The Gamecocks shot just 36% in an ugly offensive first half, going on a six-minute scoring drought as the Bulldogs built their lead. Without transition points and second-chance points, USC couldn’t create open looks and struggled with shot selection. Meanwhile, the MSU offense shot near 60% for much of the game, led by Iverson Molinar’s 20 points.
Gamecock veterans cool off
During USC’s winning streak, core veterans James Reese, Erik Stevenson, Jermaine Couisnard and Keyshawn Bryant have combined to provide most of USC’s offensive firepower.
But outside of another strong shooting performance by Reese, those veterans were quiet on Tuesday. Reese led the pack with 15 points, but Stevenson went 2-for-9 and missed all three 3-point attempts and Couisnard didn’t make his first field goal until there was five minutes left in the game. Bryant scored just four points and played only 11 minutes for the game.
Next USC men’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs. Tennessee
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia
Watch: CBS
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 9:06 PM.
