What went wrong as USC drops game to Colorado State in first loss of Lamont Paris era
So much for momentum.
Whatever confidence the South Carolina men’s basketball team gained in last week’s buzzer-beating win over Clemson crumbled in the opening moment’s of Thursday’s game against Colorado State.
Opening play in the eight-team Shriners Childrens’ Charleston Classic at TD Arena, the Gamecocks (2-1) buried themselves early against the Rams (4-0) with a litany of self-inflicted errors and miscues, losing 85-53. It was the first loss of the Lamont Paris Era after wins against S.C. State and Clemson.
“We did not play well tonight in many aspects of the game — I think that’s probably the understatement of the year,” Paris said. “We didn’t play well and we didn’t compete well. That’s the only thing the really bothers. Sometimes you’re not gonna play well ... but competing is a decision. And we just did not decide to compete.”
Paris said he could see the lack of the Gamecocks’ competitive spirit in their body language and the looks in their eyes, and he said he wants to see a more competitive effort in the team’s next tournament game. With the loss, the Gamecocks will play the loser of College of Charleston vs. Davidson at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Here’s what we learned from USC’s 32-point loss.
USC sloppy on offense
The Gamecocks set an erratic tone from the very beginning Thursday, turning the ball over four times in the first three minutes with careless passing and sloppy ball-handing.
“I sensed it was going to be a struggle early on because we couldn’t get out of our own way,” Paris said. “We couldn’t do it. We couldn’t catch the ball a couple of times.”
Running with the same starting five the Gamecocks employed against Clemson, USC looked noticeably more disjointed and confused on offense — too often settling for long 2-point attempts and contested jumpers instead of driving the lane and creating open looks.
In the first half, the Gamecocks made seven of 28 field-goal attempts (25%), turned the ball over 10 times and scored eight points in the paint. The Gamecocks went scoreless for the final 5:21 of the half, as the Rams built a commanding 21-point halftime lead.
The Gamecocks finished the game with 16 turnovers, and the Rams scored 19 points off of them.
“(The turnovers) are very concerning because I value the basketball,” Paris said. “I’m not the smartest guy of all time but I do know in basketball you score when you have the ball.”
Fouls and interior defense
Seven-foot forward Josh Gray was a key factor in USC’s 60-58 win over the Tigers, pulling down 10 rebounds and registering three blocks as a physical presence in the post.
But Gray’s absence was notable Thursday against the Rams. Playing off the bench, Gray committed his second foul six minutes into the game and was forced to sit on the bench. Foul trouble for fellow forward Hayden Brown kept him on the sidelines for much of the contest as well.
With USC weakened in the interior, the Rams took full advantage by driving the lane and scoring near the rim. CSU scored 20 of its first 22 points in the paint and scored 30 of its 40 first-half points in the paint, consistently finding open looks inside with a pass-heavy offense.
CSU finished with 54 points in the paint — one more than the Gamecocks scored for the entire game.
“It was a perfect storm,” Paris said. “That’s a good basketball team. I don’t want to pretend that they’re not. ... But I think it was a perfect storm of not shooting the ball well, not taking care of the ball well, not defending well. Just some basic stuff. Foul trouble was in there.”
Silver lining for USC
If there’s a positive to take away from Thursday’s loss, it’s that the Gamecocks didn’t lay down in the second half after trailing by 21 at halftime.
In fact, led by a GG Jackson 3-pointer and a foul-drawing play at the basket, the Gamecocks went on a 12-2 run early in the the second half, forcing the Rams to take a timeout before the first media break. Jackson scored 15 points in the second half (20 for the game) as he tried to will USC back in the game.
As a whole, the Gamecocks improved on their 25% shooting mark from the first half, and the offense appeared crisper, but there was still little USC could do on the defensive end to stop CSU.
Next four USC MBB games
- Friday: vs. College of Charleston/Davidson at Charleston Classic, 7:30 p.m., ESPN News
- Sunday: vs. TBD/at Charleston Classic, time TBD
- Nov. 25: vs. USC Upstate, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Nov. 30: at George Washington, 9 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 6:59 PM.
