Gamecocks take on Hofstra with shot at championship game
At St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., South Carolina is back to work after a bye following its opening-round win in the Paradise Jam over DePaul.
The Gamecocks (3-0) will take on Hofstra (3-0) at 9 p.m. Sunday after the Pride upset Florida State. USC’s start matches the best of the Frank Martin era, and the Gamecocks haven’t started 4-0 since 2009-10.
Mindaugas Kacinas is coming off a career-high 23 points, a game after Laimonas Chatkevicius had a career-high 27. Kacinas was 10-of-15 from the free-throw line and USC held the Blue Demons to 36.5 percent shooting from the field.
The Gamecocks continued their success on the offensive glass, hauling in 16 rebounds for 19 second-chance points. Junior Sindarius Thornwell had his fourth career double-double.
HOFSTRA (3-0) vs. SOUTH CAROLINA (3-0)
What: Winner's bracket, Paradise Jam
When: 9 p.m. Sunday
Where: UVI Sports and Fitness Center, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
TV: CBS Sports Network
Tickets: Available at the box office
Hofstra's probable starters: G Brian Bernardi 6-2 Jr. (19.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg), G Juan'ya Green 6-2 Sr. (16.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg), G/F Ameen Tanksley 6-5 Sr. (14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), F Denton Koon 6-8 Sr. (13.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg), F/C Rokas Gustys 6-9 So. (11.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg)
South Carolina’s probable starters: G P.J. Dozier 6-6 Fr. (4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg); G Sindarius Thornwell 6-5 Jr. (11.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg); F Mindaugas Kacinas 6-7 Sr. (14.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg); F Michael Carrera 6-5 Sr. (6.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg); C Laimonas Chatkevicius 6-11 Sr. (15.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Next game: The winner will play the Indiana State/Tulsa winner at 9 p.m. on Monday in the tournament championship, the loser will play the Indiana State/Tulsa loser at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.