South Carolina MBB never trails, earns impressive SEC road win over Arkansas
South Carolina men’s basketball can say this: The team hasn’t experienced a losing streak this season.
After falling at home Tuesday against Georgia, USC traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas on Saturday to take on the Razorbacks, a team USC has had its share of struggles with historically — especially on the road.
There was no struggle this time around, and the Gamecocks dominated in every category to take another SEC road win 77-64. USC heads back to Columbia 15-3 overall and 3-2 in SEC play.
“We appeared to be on a mission,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “And when I say that I mean in terms of commitment to some principles.”
Bounced back
After dropping a winnable home game to Georgia on Tuesday, including USC’s worst free-throw percentage in SEC play thus far, South Carolina picked itself up and bounced back with its second-best win at Arkansas in program history.
“We knew that coming into the game today, it was all about having a response,” BJ Mack said to SEC Network. “We didn’t really play our best ball on the defensive end, getting rebounds and stuff (against Georgia). So we wanted to come in and prove that we can have a response.”
The Razorbacks (10-8, 1-4 SEC) lead the all-time series 23-16. Saturday’s victory was USC’s sixth road win over the Razorbacks in 18 tries. Eric Musselman coached his 80th game inside Bud Walton Arena. Saturday was just the fourth time Arkansas lost by double digits under Musselman at home.
Arkansas has won the last seven of 10 matchups against USC, including a victory in Columbia last year. The Razorbacks were 12-5 at home against South Carolina before Saturday afternoon, but the Gamecocks won the rebound battle, the turnover battle and shot well from 3-point range.
“We’ve now had two home games where we’re not exhibiting the energy that we need to,” Musselman said. “Toughness, rebounding, offensively sharing the ball. There’s a whole bunch of stuff.”
The Razorbacks’ best run was a 6-0 splash over 40 seconds that cut the game to single digits in the second half. Beyond that, USC kept Arkansas at arm’s length and away from any chance of a comeback. Arkansas’ Tramon Mark led all scorers with 18 points and two rebounds, but he was the only Razorback to reach double figures.
The win in Fayetteville was a Quad 2 victory for the Gamecocks, who will head into their toughest stretch of the season starting Tuesday. Four of their next five opponents all sit in the top 100 in NET rankings, with Tennessee and Georgia both on the road.
BJ Mack leads the Gamecocks
BJ Mack let a 3-pointer fly, his first shot of the game, and it went down no problem. Then the Wofford College transfer exploded against the Razorbacks.
Mack finished the game with 18 points and 9 rebounds, just shy of the first USC double-double in SEC play. He finished 6 for 10 from the field and 3 for 4 from 3-point range.
“It really energizes our team if he comes out and makes a couple threes,” Paris said. “He really gets us going.”
Mack helped get USC on its feet in the opening minutes, scoring his first points less than two minutes into a game where the Gamecocks never trailed. He’s bolstered a large portion of South Carolina’s offense this season, making himself a consistent player to watch alongside Meechie Johnson.
South Carolina had four players finish in double digits: starters Mack, Collin Murray-Boyles (11), Ta’Lon Cooper (11) and Zach Davis (12). Johnson was just behind with eight points, and Josh Gray had an SEC-best six points.
Zach Davis stepping into a starting role
With starting forward Myles Stute (shoulder) out for the next two weeks, Paris called on sophomore Zach Davis to fill in for the injured junior. It was Davis’ first start of this season and third of his career.
Davis finished Saturday’s game with 12 points, four rebounds, four personal fouls and one turnover in 26 minutes.
He didn’t shoot the 3-ball against Arkansas much, going 0 for 1, but the team shot 51.9% overall and 50% from long range.
Davis did his job. The sophomore’s ability to defend, particularly in the paint, was a big asset to USC’s ability to limit Arkansas from scoring down low. He was aggressive and blended well with the four other starters.
Other notable stats
- South Carolina is 5-0 this season when shooting 50% or better from the floor collectively.
- Every USC player who saw action scored at least one point against the Razorbacks, the first time USC has done so this season.
- The Gamecocks are 3-0 this season when bouncing back from a loss, and 5-7 with Paris as head coach.
Next four games
- Tuesday vs. Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 27 vs. Missouri, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 30 at Tennessee, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 3 at Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 20, 2024 at 2:58 PM.
