Gamecocks again can’t solve SEC road, fall to MSU
South Carolina’s hopes for an SEC championship were dented after another road loss.
The Gamecocks (23-6, 10-6 SEC) were blown away 68-58 by Mississippi State on Saturday, a hot Bulldog start fueled by USC turnovers turning into the usual USC weakness.
The Gamecocks were down 13-4 at the first timeout after MSU (13-15, 6-10) buried all three of its long-range attempts, and eight of the points were off four USC turnovers.
USC couldn’t get an interior shot to fall and couldn’t keep MSU out of the paint, and as the Bulldogs double-teamed every inside pass, the Gamecocks’ offense flagged. They made three of their first 16 attempts and it never got much better.
“Ben (Howland) had done a great job with them,” said USC coach Frank Martin. “They fight and scrap and they’ve been in every game they’ve played this year. They beat us from the punch. We couldn’t run our offense today and couldn’t execute anything.
“Give (Mississippi State) credit and they beat us to the punch. They got on the ball and in the passing lanes and pressured the ball. We tried to call different things but Mississippi State fought and protected their home court.”
USC owned the paint in a whipping of Tennessee but the Bulldogs’ defense was prepared for it. Physical play was allowed under the basket and USC couldn’t finish, and loose balls became MSU fast-breaks.
With two final-minute baskets, USC was able to avoid having fewer field goals (22) than turnovers (21). Sindarius Thornwell led the team with 12 points while Duane Notice had 10, but Michael Carrera’s four-game streak of double-doubles ended as he, hampered by an ankle injury, mustered only six points.
The Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the floor and had 24 points off USC turnovers.
“That was a great effort for us and I thought it was our best effort of the year on all ends for 40 minutes,” said Mississippi State coach Ben Howland. “And it was against a very good team, a very good team. I am really proud of our guys. Defensively, this was our best sustained effort for 40 minutes.”
USC slipped a game behind Texas A&M and Kentucky, and is now tied for second place with Vanderbilt. A win would have had the Gamecocks in a three-way tie for first -- and winner of the tiebreaker for the No. 1 tournament seed.
They also aren’t helping their NCAA tournament resume, with three of their six losses now coming to teams ranked 117th or below in the RPI. While USC isn’t in any immediate danger of squandering what’s been a terrific season, it needs to re-assert itself against Georgia Thursday and then at Arkansas next week to finish strong.
Five of USC’s six losses have been on the SEC road, with three (Missouri, Tennessee, MSU) to three of the four worst teams in the league.
NOTE: Marcus Stroman and Raymond Doby dressed after missing the Tennessee game with flu-like symptoms, but the infection spread to Eric Cobb on Saturday. He did not dress.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 68, SOUTH CAROLINA 58
SOUTH CAROLINA (23-6)
Chatkevicius 4-6 1-1 9, Carrera 1-8 3-4 6, Kacinas 4-10 0-0 9, Thornwell 5-11 0-1 12, Notice 4-9 0-0 10, Stroman 0-3 2-2 2, Gregory 0-1 0-0 0, Dozier 2-7 0-0 4, McKie 0-0 1-2 1, Silva 2-5 1-2 5. Totals 22-60 8-12 58.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (13-15)
Ware 7-12 2-4 16, Daniels 1-5 0-0 3, Weatherspoon 5-13 2-4 14, Ready 0-3 0-1 0, Sword 4-6 4-8 14, Thomas 4-5 2-2 12, Zuppardo 2-3 0-0 5, Newman 0-4 0-0 0, Holman 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 25-55 10-19 68.
Halftime—Mississippi State 37-26. 3-Point Goals—South Carolina 6-19 (Thornwell 2-3, Notice 2-7, Carrera 1-4, Kacinas 1-4, Dozier 0-1), Mississippi State 8-22 (Thomas 2-3, Sword 2-4, Weatherspoon 2-5, Zuppardo 1-1, Daniels 1-2, Holman 0-1, Ready 0-2, Newman 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—South Carolina 39 (Carrera 8), Mississippi State 34 (Ware 12). Assists—South Carolina 7 (Dozier 4), Mississippi State 20 (Ready, Sword 5). Total Fouls—South Carolina 19, Mississippi State 17. A—7,488.
This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 4:23 PM.