Arkansas at South Carolina: A Quick Recap

by Gamecock Man on Jan 19, 2011 10:47 PM EST in South Carolina Gamecocks Basketball

Time to smile, Gamecocks fans! Carolina just put the finishing touches on a thrilling, rollercoaster-ride of a victory over the visiting Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs are a solid team, perhaps the best in the West, so this should be considered a good win. The game featured numerous momentum shifts, but when it went to overtime, Carolina took over. Sam Muldrow and Ramon Galloway were the stars for USC. Muldrow nearly posted a triple-double with 20 points, 9 boards, and 7 blocks, and he had some huge scores and defensive stops in the extra period. Galloway added 19. Marshawn Powell led the Hogs with 21 and was a nightmare for Carolina under the basket.

Carolina is now 12-5 / 3-1 and has a very real chance to put its name firmly in the NCAAs conversation with a home victory over Kentucky this weekend. For a team playing this many freshman and which only a few weeks ago was losing to Furman and getting manhandled by Ohio St., you have to be happy with the position we're in right now. Darrin Horn is doing a good job with this team. We're beginning to show signs of maturity and less of a propensity to make freshman mistakes, and while I didn't agree with every decision Horn made tonight (it seemed that he was unwilling to go away from Bruce Ellington late in the game despite the fact that Ellington was having an off night), I also think he made very nice moves, as well. Some of his inbounds plays were nifty and well-designed, and the team seems to be operating half-court offenses somewhat better. Horn was getting a good bit of flak a few weeks ago for the way the season was going, but he now deserves our adulation. We still have a long way to go, of course,but right now he's making the right moves to give us chance to have a memorable season.

That's a wrap for this one. Next up is a visit from the 'Cats. This will be, of course, a season-defining moment, just like it is every time you play Kentucky. Stay tuned.

So sound off, folks: how do you feel about this team? Can we make the NCAAs?

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BTW, just so noone thinks I'm ignoring it...

The officiating in this game sucked.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Jan 19, 2011 10:51 PM EST reply actions

With home cooking like that...

we could go all the way. Horn did a good job drawing up plays, though, as he usually does. This team just feels too young to make it to the NCAA’s when so many more experienced Gamecock squads failed. Things like losing balls on the in-bounds pass stick out to me. At this point, I think Gamecock fans should be happy if we finish over .500 in SEC play. But hey, if they keep improving as the season goes on, it could happen.

Dum spiro spero - "While I breathe, I hope"
State motto of South Carolina

by The Feathered Warrior on Jan 19, 2011 10:58 PM EST reply actions

I would consider a +.500 SEC record to be success.

Expectations for this team were low coming in. If Horn can at least make the NIT this year, it’ll say a lot about the quality of this freshman class and where this team can go in future years. That said, I don’t think the NCAAs are out of the realm of possibilities. We really need to win this weekend, though, because the opportunities to beat ranked teams will be rare this year.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Jan 19, 2011 11:06 PM EST up reply actions

Re: the officiating...

It should be said that Arkansas benefited from some questionable calls earlier in the game. I’m not going to downplay what happened at the end, but it should be said that these guys just sucked, like most SEC hoops refs. I feel for the Hogs, but this stuff happens weekly.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog By and For Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Jan 19, 2011 11:09 PM EST up reply actions