While the Winthrop win was decent, the Gamecocks scored an even bigger win tonight, an 85-70 over Gardner-Webb. Gardner-Webb recently took highly ranked Oklahoma down to the wire in Norman, and many thought they stood a good chance of upsetting the Gamecocks. It didn't happen, though. Gardner-Webb held a lead throughout the early part of the first half, but the Gamecocks built a double-digit lead by halftime that they would not relinquish in the second half. Devan Downey led the way with 25 points, most of which came during a hot streak in the second half. Zam Fredrick and Mike Holmes also chipped in double-digit scoring, while Austin Steed produced 11 rebounds.

While Gardner-Webb was likely the toughest team the Gamecocks have faced so far, we should be aware that this is a team we matched up well with. On defense, the Bulldogs like to play zone and prefer to give their opponents outside shots rather than letting them move the ball around the basket. This approach played to our strengths, so all we had to do was hope we didn't have an off night shooting the ball, and we didn't.

Our next opponent is at College of Charleston. The Cougars, who are 4-1 so far and will be looking to please the locals with an upset of USC, will be another stiff test for us.

The Gamecocks defeated the USC-Upstate Spartans by a score of 75-53. The game was a pretty thorough rout in which we led by a wide margin by halftime, although sloppy play in the second half kept the Gamecocks from producing an even greater margin of victory. Zam Fredrick led the way with 23 points and Devan Downey added 16 for good measure.

Offensively, we continue to live and die by hot and cold streaks. We built the large first half lead on 54% shooting but cooled off considerably in the second half, shooting a paltry 30%. That led to an overall 42% for the night, not exactly a percentage to envy but apparently enough to get it done against the Spartans.

We continue to make up for cold shooting spells by hitting the offensive boards hard. Mike Holmes pulled down another seven offensive rebounds, while the other big men each had a few of their own. We're doing very well in this area, but I'm concerned that we won't be quite as successful against bigger teams. Hope I'm wrong, of course.

Another positive was the continued development of Austin Steed. Steed provided another serviceable outing off the bench, adding seven points on 3-4 shooting and giving us a solid defensive presence down low. As a team that lacks a lot of size in the starting line-up, we need to continue to see solid play out of Steed.

Overall, this was another fairly promising but hardly perfect performance. We're playing as well or maybe a bit better than most of us expected but continue to show signs of not being a whole lot different than last year's team. It's also hard to make too much out of a game against Upstate. No offense to the Spartans, but they're still only a few years removed from Division II and aren't quite ready for playing teams like us yet. In addition to losing to us, they were also blown out by Notre Dame and a struggling UGA team. We'll have to wait a bit longer before we get a look at how the Gamecocks can do against more legitimate threats.

Share your thoughts on the Gamecocks' play thus far in the comments thread.

The Gamecocks defeated Winthrop in Columbia earlier today by a score of 86-63. While the Eagles had a decent run late in the first half to cut our lead to about 10, for the most part we dominated this game. Devan Downey led the way with 21 points, while Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie contributed double-doubles. Austin Steed continued to develop as a legitimate post threat off the bench, scoring 8 points on 4-6 shooting.

Winthrop was one of the non-con games that worried me coming into the season, so beating them in such convincing fashion is reason to be optimistic. Not that we should go booking our tickets to March Madness quite yet. For one, Winthrop is rebuilding this year and likely won't be quite the team they usually are. Moreover, we weren't perfect, only shooting 44% from the field and 65% from the line. We had a couple of dry spells that allowed the Eagles to keep it relatively close, which indicates that we're still prone to being a streaky team offensively.

However, we scored 86 points against a team that is known for its defense. Another bright spot was our performance on the boards. We had 22 offensive rebounds and 44 total, far better than the Eagles 13 and 32. That's not bad for a team that has been criticized for it's problems on the front line. All in all, this was a good victory.

South Carolina beat Jacksonville State last night by a score of 89-76. While the final score doesn't indicate complete dominance, this was a better performance in some ways than we put in against Kentucky Wesleyan. 86 points is a pretty good offensive night for in a college game. We shot for over 50% from the floor, a promising performance considering that one of this team's problems last year was poor shooting.

The game wasn't all roses, however. Giving up 76 points to a team like Jacksonville State isn't ideal and reminds one of some of the defensive meltdowns we experienced under Odom over the past two years. JSU's points came in bursts--we were actually up 58-32 at one point in the middle of the second half before letting JSU go on a spree--which indicates that this team could be prone to spells of mental lapse on defense.

We also suffered a significant injury. Brandis Raley-Ross left the game late in the first half, and reports say that he has a sprained knee and could miss up to a month. His absence will be a big blow to a team that already lacks depth. We can hope, though, that he'll be ready to go by the time the meat of the season begins, although as Kentucky learned last night, any SEC team is only one game against a hot-shooting mid-major away from getting embarrassed during the non-con slate.

Darrin Horn's squad begins their season tonight against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Yes, you heard that right: another school uses the Gamecock as its nickname. Last year, these counterfeit Gamecocks went 7-22 overall and 5-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference. They lost their second- and third-leading scorers from a year ago and have only two seniors on their roster. They do return talented shooting guard Nick Murphy, who led last year's team with 13 ppg. They also have a dangerous big man, 6-11 Amadou Mbodji, who hails from Senegal. Mbodji could cause problems for  us, as we lack a post player of equal size.

All in all, JSU shouldn't be too much of a threat to us. They were a cellar dweller in a low-major conference a year ago and probably won't be much better this year. However, they should prove a better gauge of how good we are than Kentucky Wesleyan, so this is a game to pay attention to.

The Gamecocks beat Division II Kentucky Wesleyan Friday night by a score of 75-55. My first impression is that we did not play well. The 20 point margin is relatively low for an exhibition against an inferior opponent. Wesleyan played us tough, even cutting our lead to 44-43 with about 13 minutes left in the second half. Our athletic superiority prevailed in the end, but in many important categories we will need improvement. For instance, we only shot 6-27 from beyond the arc, a percentage that reminds one of the low ebb of the Odom years. All in all, our performance Friday did not indicate ability to play at a high level in the SEC.

That said, we probably should not make too much out of this game. We were without our starting posts, Sam Muldrow and Mike Holmes. These players' absence hurt us against a team that lacked a post presence and forced us to resort to shooting lots of treys. Luckily, Holmes will be back next game, although academic Muldrow's suspension may be more serious.

Moreover, this was an exhibition game. The team is rusty, they are breaking in a new system, and lackluster performances in these types of games are not uncommon. We will get a better view of what we have when we play Jacksonville State later this Friday.

Below is the OOC basketball schedule, per the USC athletics website.

F-Nov. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan (EX) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.
F-Nov. 14 Jacksonville State (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.
Su-Nov 16 Winthrop (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 4 p.m.
Sa-Nov. 22 USC Upstate (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 1 p.m.
Tu-Nov. 25 Gardner Webb (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.
F-Nov. 28 College of Charleston Charleston, S.C. (Carolina First Arena) 7 p.m.
Tu-Dec. 2 Princeton Princeton, N.J. (Jadwin Gym) 7 p.m.
F-Dec. 5 Furman Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 6 p.m.
Tu-Dec. 16 NC Central (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 8 p.m.
Sa-Dec. 20 The Citadel (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 5 p.m.
Tu-Dec. 23 Presbyterian College (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.
Tu-Dec. 30 Clemson (FSN) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.
F-Jan. 2 Baylor (FSNSW) Waco, Texas (Ferell Center) 5:30 p.m.
M-Jan. 5 Wofford College (SS) Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Life Arena) 7 p.m.

Four games stand out here as important tests for our team: Winthrop, College of Charleston, Clemson, and Baylor. The other games should be easy wins. Of course, Gardner-Webb did beat Kentucky last year, but hopefully we'll escape that fate. Princeton's career as a giant killer is well known, but the Tigers have fallen on hard times. As far as Jacksonville State is concerned, we'll just have to hope that record keepers don't get confused when we play them and credit the wrong team with the win.

We're flattered, really.

Let's take a closer look at the better OOC opponents we face.

Winthrop

Winthrop has had a lot of success in the Big South conference in recent years. Last year, they went 22-12 and, as usual, represented their conference in the NCAA tournament. Despite their Big South success, though, wins over major conference foes have not come often for the Eagles, so they'll be looking for blood when they come to Columbia.

Luckily for us, however, the Eagles should be in a rebuilding phase this year. They lose four of their top five scorers from a year ago, and while Randy Peele has proven that he's a good enough coach to get his young team ready for the Big South, he'll likely have trouble with a more experienced, athletic Gamecocks team.

Verdict for Winthrop: Likely Win

College of Charleston

The COC had a tough year last year, going 16-17 and 9-11 in the Southern Conference, otherwise lately known as Davidson's Whipping Boys. However, Bobby Cremins's team returns every significant player this year. Cremins is a good, proven coach, and if things come together for his group of players, his team should challenge Davidson in the SoCon.

COC may be a tough out for the Gamecocks. The Cougars present minor matchup problems for Carolina. Carolina's Achilles Heel last year was talented big men, and COC sports two in Jermaine Johnson and Dustin Scott. Johnson and Scott don't sport quite the size of the SEC big men that plagued the Gamecocks last year, but they should be able to score some points in the paint against us. Also playing in COC's favor is that this game will take place in Charleston and lots of COC fans will undoubtedly be on hand to see the Cougars try to take out one of the big boys.

Verdict for COC: Somewhat Probable Win

See previews for Clemson and Baylor after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Last time around, I gave pre-season rankings for the SEC East squads. This time, it's the West, which, unless they surprise us, will likely be the weaker division. The West does feature some tough teams, though, so don't be surprised if someone surprises us.

1. LSU

The Tigers underachieved last year under former coach John Brady, but they return four starters from last year's team and new coach Trent Johnson should have these guys playing more effectively than Brady. The easy non-conference slate should have them playing with lots of confidence come beginning of conference season.

2. Alabama

Mark Gottfried's bunch get talented guard Ronald Steele back this year and bring in super-frosh forward JaMychal Green. That shouldn't be enough to make them a national contender, but it should give them enough to do better than they did last year, when they faded during conference play and ended up at 17.16 and at home for the post-season.

3. Ole Miss

Coach Andy Kennedy has done a great job getting Ole Miss to where it is today, and this year, he might have a chance to make a serious run at the SEC title. The Rebels had a good year last year, although a mid-season slump kept them out of the NCAAs. This year, they return an experienced back-court and, while they lose some big guys, Kennedy brought in some talented youngsters that should make an impact. This is a team to watch.

4. Arkansas

The Razorbacks lose almost all of the members of last year's team. Luckily, this will give 2nd-year coach John Pelphrey an opportunity to remake this team in his own image. Pelphrey has brought in some talented freshmen, so look for Arkansas to be a threat, although they're probably a couple of years away from realizing their true potential under the talented Pelphrey.

5. Mississippi State

State looked primed for a solid run this year until Jamont Gordon left early for the NBA and Ben Hansbrough transferred to Notre Dame. Combined with the loss of Paul Rhodes to graduation, these defections leave State with a young, unproven team. Super-defender Jarvis Varnado returns to shore up the front line, but other than him, State returns very little, so unless their freshman are better than we think they are, it may be a long year for the Bulldogs.

6. Auburn

Jeff Lebo's team does return some decent players, but those players didn't do much last year, so it will likely be the case that they won't do a whole lot this year. At best, this team may contend for an NIT bid, but I doubt they do much more and even the NIT may be a bit of a stretch.

Ready for another run to the title?

The hoops season is soon upon us. Here are is my pre-season power rankings for the East. As many have recognized, the East probably features the three best teams--Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky--so expect one of these teams to win the title come tourney time.

1. Florida

Although they faded down the stretch last year before making a run to the NIT finals, where they lost to UMass, the Gators have a number of skilled players and should be conference and maybe national contenders. They lost talented big man Mareese Speights to the NBA, but they return several sophomores that should gel better after a year of playing together. Among them: Jai Lucas, Chandler Parsons, and Nick Calathes. As usual, they also signed a powerful incoming freshman class, and players like Kenny Kadji and Eloy Vargas will contribute immediately. Senior hustler Walter Hodge completes a core group of players that is talented and deep.

2. Tennessee

The Vols look to be solid but probably not as good as last year's regular season SEC champion squad. They lose a number of players and will have to rely on their highly recruited class of freshmen along with upperclassmen Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism, and J. P. Prince. This should be another exciting, high-scoring team, but you have to think that the lack of experience and lingering defensive issues are going to cost them against elite competition.

3. Kentucky

The Cats won't lose to Gardner-Webb again this year, but they're likely still a year or two away from being able to challenge the Gators and Vols. Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley are gone, so Kentucky will have to rely on Patrick Patterson quite a bit. That's not a bad situation to be in, because Patterson will likely be the best big fella in the conference. However, he won't be enough to get the Cats past the first or second round of the NCAA tourney.

4. South Carolina

The Gamecocks return almost every significant player from a team that lost a lot of close games and could have just as well finished 18-14 as 14-18. With added experience and an exciting new coach, this group should be ready to win a few more games this year, although they'll likely do no better than play spoiler in terms of the big picture. Devan Downey may be the conference's best player.

5. Vanderbilt

Vandy returns all-conference center A. J. Ogilvy but loses the rest of its team, including a number of sharpshooters that opened things up for Ogilvy on the post. This means that the Commodores will likely struggle a bit this year until they find a combination that works for them.

6. Georgia

The Dawgs concluded last year with a surprise championship run in the SEC tourney, probably saving coach Dennis Felton's job. It's going to take another unlikely turn of events for the Dawgs to go anywhere this year, as they lose most of the core group of players that composed a pretty mediocre team last year.

One Gamecock enjoying himself in the NBA.

In my last hoops preview, I took a look at our frontline, which I believe will be a liability for us this year much like it was last year. The our undersized big guys will likely be effective scorers in Darrin Horn's up-tempo system, but their lack of size will cost us defensively against team's with top-notch post-players.

Although they may have some defensive issues as well, our backcourt will not be anywhere near the overall problem area that our frontline could be. The main reason for that? Number 2, Devan Downey. The emergence of Downey, our PG, as one of the SEC's best players last year was one of the few bright sides to an overall disappointing season. Downey is a PG who scores and dishes: he averaged 18.1 ppg and 5.06 asg, making him our team's leader in both categories. He's also an opportunistic defender who averaged 3.06 spg, although his small stature--he's 5'9 and weighs 175 lbs--makes him something of a defensive liability against the occasional team that has a big PG. If Downey has another big year, he may very well head off to the NBA a year early--he's that good.

Devan won't steal the entire show, though, as we have some other guards who can score. The rest of the roster includes Branden Conrad, Zam Frederick, Brandis Raley-Ross, and Robert Wilder. Frederick looks to be Devan's main running mate. Last year, he was second on the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg. Raley-Ross should be a solid backup, having scored 6 ppg last year.

Overall, this should be a high-scoring group of guards. There are some concerns, though, about the group's propensity to throw up a lot of threes and shoot for a low percentage in general. Downey shot .423 from the field last year, Frederick a somewhat poor .402. Those percentages aren't always going to win you ball games, especially when you don't have a big rebounder under the goal to put the miss back in.

Despite these legitimate concerns, I expect to see a more efficient offense this year. One reason for the poor percentage was that we were often trying to from behind last year and were thus hoisting up threes every time we came down the court. Hopefully, that won't be the case quite as often this year. The other problem was that Dave Odom over-relied on the guards in general, and I think we'll see Horn make better use of our big guys. All in all, I expect a solid season from Downey, Frederick, Raley-Ross, and whichever other guys Coach Horn manages to work in.

Stay tuned for a tentative overall season outlook as well as a look at some of our biggest OOC games.