USC drops home game to slumping Ole Miss as Rebels earn 1st SEC win. What we learned
For a brief moment this January — a flicker — it seemed like the South Carolina men’s basketball team might’ve turned a corner. The Gamecocks’ stunning win over Kentucky in Lexington last week garnered national attention and gave the fan base a jolt of hope that perhaps USC had figured things out in Lamont Paris’ first year as head coach.
Not so fast.
Hosting Ole Miss on Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena, the Gamecocks lost their second-straight game since defeating Kentucky, falling to the Rebels 70-58. The Gamecocks (8-10, 1-4 SEC) lost to an Ole Miss team (9-9, 1-5) that had dropped six straight games and nine of its last 11 heading into the contest.
With the loss, USC’s win over the Wildcats is looking more like an aberration. The Gamecocks have gone winless in their other conference games, including 41-plus-point losses to Tennessee and Texas A&M.
Here’s what we learned from Tuesday’s USC loss.
Poor USC shooting performance
The Gamecocks have been at their best this season when players like GG Jackson, Meechie Johnson and Chico Carter Jr. are making shots, especially from the perimeter.
The team has struggled all season long to consistently produce with their big men inside, and they rank 324th in the country with a 45.5% shooting percentage on two-point looks. When the Gamecocks are winning big, it’s typically because they’re making shots from deep.
That was not the case for USC against the Rebels on Tuesday, who held USC to just two 3-pointers in the first half and only 30% shooting.
Johnson, known for his deep 3-pointers and six made 3s at Kentucky, whiffed on his first four attempts before making his first 3-pointer early in the second half and was just 1 for 7 from 3 overall. Jackson (5 for 20) also had a difficult shooting game, though he’d finish with a team-high 15 points.
No sustained runs
Despite losing six straight games heading into Tuesday, the Rebels never trailed against the Gamecocks and seemed in control for nearly the entirety of the game.
There was one stretch where it seemed like the Gamecocks might claw back.
Early in the second half, the Gamecocks narrowed the score to 30-26 with hot shooting and six missed field goals from the Rebels. But that’s as close as USC would get, as the Rebels immediately went on a run to expand the lead back to double-digits.
The Gamecocks have had flashes this season where they look like the best team on the court, but too often the wheels fall off before they can establish any kind of foothold on the scoreboard.
Hayden Brown back healthy
The Gamecocks clearly missed veteran forward Hayden Brown against the Aggies on Saturday, especially struggling to hold their own on the defensive glass.
After missing one game with a deep left thigh bruise suffered in last Thursday’s practice, Brown returned to the starting lineup for the Gamecocks on Tuesday and provided some stability with his leadership and gritty style of play.
Brown was limping somewhat on the leg during pregame warmups and didn’t carry his typical workload, playing 21 minutes for the game. It didn’t help that Brown committed his fourth foul midway through the second half and fouled out with a couple minutes remaining. He finished with nine points and two rebounds.
Next four USC MBB games
Saturday: vs. Auburn, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 25: at Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Jan. 28: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 31: Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 8:28 PM.
