Gamecocks stumble in home loss to Vanderbilt. What we learned
None of the good energy South Carolina established at Ole Miss on Saturday made the trip back to Columbia.
Fresh off their first win in a month, Lamont Paris’ Gamecocks (9-17, 2-11 SEC) struggled from the opening tip against visiting Vanderbilt (14-12, 7-6) on Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena, losing to the Commodores for the second time this season 75-64.
Here’s what we learned from the USC loss.
Disastrous first half
The Gamecocks had one of their worst halves of the season against the Commodores, struggling to shoot and rebound in a dismal 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks made just eight field goals (28.6%) and were out-rebounded 30-15 on the glass. In that first half, USC scored just 0.60 points per possession against a Vanderbilt defense that ranks 12th in the SEC in scoring defense. The Gamecocks went on a five-minute, 20-second scoring drought in the opening minutes.
Strangely, no fouls were called on Vanderbilt in the half, despite physical moments that led to both Hayden Brown and Meechie Johnson limping off the court at various points. Both re-entered the game.
For the third straight game, Paris held star freshman GG Jackson out of the starting lineup, bringing him off the bench while starting sophomore guard Jacobi Wright in his place. Jackson played a season-low 12 minutes in USC’s win at Ole Miss on Saturday, and he followed with another quiet effort with long stretches spent on the bench. He stood apart from his teammates as they huddled together and at one point in the second half took off his wrist tape and untucked his jersey.
Home struggles continue
Under Paris, the Gamecocks have yet to win a home SEC game this season.
USC has faced some of the SEC’s top talent at home, including Tennessee, Auburn and Texas A&M, but the Gamecocks have also had winnable matchups that they let slip through their fingers.
USC almost defeated this same Vanderbilt team in its SEC opener in Nashville on Jan. 3, taking the Commodores to overtime. Since then, the Gamecocks have won just two SEC games — both on the road. USC hasn’t won a game at Colonial Life Arena since Dec. 30 against Eastern Michigan.
The Gamecocks have just two home games remaining, against No. 1 Alabama and Georgia.
Next four USC MBB games
Saturday: at LSU, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 22: Alabama, 9 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Feb. 28: at Mississippi State, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
March 4: Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 8:30 PM.
