Back on track: No. 20 South Carolina picks up road win at Ole Miss
After a week-long break, South Carolina was back in action for the final stretch of the regular season. The Gamecocks, returning from their bye on a two-game skid, made the return trip to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC).
The Gamecocks (22-5, 9-4 SEC) had no problem handling the Rebels in the rematch, taking down Ole Miss 72-59 at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion, doubling down on their previous victory against Ole Miss just three weeks ago.
Locked down on defense
South Carolina held Ole Miss to 22 points in the first half, the fewest the Rebels have scored this year. The Gamecocks held them scoreless for roughly 13 minutes of the first half, including a 6:27 drought leading up to halftime.
The Rebels played most of the first half without their top forward, Matthew Murrell, after he picked up two personal fouls just four minutes into the game. Murrell sat for the remainder of the half, not having scored any points yet, before returning to start the second half.
“Today, we just wanted to be solid,” Head coach Lamont Paris said on SEC Network postgame. “We just wanted to do what we do: get back to basics on what we did. I thought our first half was really really, really good defensively. And then we did enough in the second half to pull out a win on the road.”
Collin Murray-Boyles missed a large portion of the first half after picking up three personal fouls. South Carolina had five players with three personal fouls in the final five minutes of the game, while Ole Miss had two. But that doesn’t include the Rebels’ Allen Flanigan, who was given a Flagrant 2 in the second half for elbowing Zach Davis in the head.
Still, Ole Miss was shooting just 27% at the half and 33% by the end of the game, scoring just three triples compared to South Carolina’s eight. The Rebels had 16 fouls called on them, putting USC into bonus territory with seven minutes to play.
Zach Davis steps up in Oxford
Davis has already been placed in pivotal positions this season. He took over the starting role for Myles Stute when the junior was out with a shoulder injury, he’s picked up significant minutes against Top 10 conference opponents, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn.
Head coach Lamont Paris chose Davis to become a starter because of his defensive pressure. Davis knows how to make it difficult for an opponent to set up a screen or get the ball in the paint, whether USC is set up in man-to-man or zone coverage.
“He’s such a talent and a good player,” Paris said. “And his future is so bright, I’m telling you, he can defend any position, as you saw him (do) today.”
Davis had his offensive game rolling in Oxford, though. He scored six of USC’s opening eight points and was the first player into double figures Saturday afternoon. He led all scorers in points for 30 minutes of the game, and finished with a career-high 14 points, making it the third game this year with at least 10 points and fourth double-digit scoring affair in his career. He was just one rebound shy of his first career double-double.
South Carolina had four players in double figures: Davis (14), Murray-Boyles (12), Jacobi Wright (10) and BJ Mack leading the way with 17 points.
SEC standings update
South Carolina’s 10th SEC win of the season keeps it in third in the conference standings, with Tennessee playing Texas A&M on Saturday night. If the Vols lose, they’ll be in a tie with the Gamecocks in second place with 10-4 SEC records. If Tennessee wins, it will stay in sole possession of second place.
Other games of note for the SEC standings battle include Alabama at Kentucky and Auburn at Georgia. Florida’s win over Vanderbilt secured the Gators’ fifth-place spot for the remainder of Saturday’s games.
The Gamecocks’ win is also another Quad 1 win; USC is now 4-3 in that category.
Top five SEC teams following the Gamecocks’ win
- Alabama (11-2)
- Tennessee (10-3)
- South Carolina (10-4)
- Auburn (9-4)
- Florida (9-5)
Other notable stats
- USC’s win is the fifth road SEC victory of the season, tying the program’s second-best, all-time conference road wins in a single season. The 2016-17 season also had five road wins.
- South Carolina is the third school in the conference to reach 10 SEC wins the season. It’s also the eighth time in program history USC reached double-digit conference victories.
- Murray-Boyles has scored at least 10 points in his last six-straight games. It’s also his seventh SEC game with scoring double-digits, and eighth of his career.
- Mack’s 17 points is the fourth-straight game he’s scored at least 14 points. He’s scored at least 14 points in six of his last eight games.
Next four games
- Feb. 28 at Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- March 2 vs. Florida, noon (ESPN)
- March 6 vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- March 9 at Mississippi State, 2:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 24, 2024 at 5:38 PM.
