The Gamecocks defeated Furman earlier tonight by a score of 72-48. The two teams are now 6-1 and 1-6, respectively. Despite the large margin of victory, the Gamecocks played poorly tonight, shooting 37% from the field. Furman, for their part, shot 34%, making this a pretty sorry game to watch. The difference in the game was that Carolina beat the Paladins on the offensive boards and in turnover margin, thus getting some easy points. We also made 23 free throws (Devan Downey had 10 on his own), although our 68% from the line is hardly anything to write home about.
What does this game mean for this team? Probably not a whole lot, although the little there is to take away isn't great. We shot the ball poorly and played sloppily in general, which serves as a reminder that while this team has some play-makers and shooters, it can let the game get away from it at times. The poor shooting from the foul stripe also continues a trend that we've seen this year, especially for our big men. Dominique Archie and Mike Holmes both shot at or under 50% from the line. All in all, this was a step back from the solid performance the team put in at Princeton Tuesday night.
That said, all teams have an off night from time to time, and there's probably no better time to have one than against a hapless team like Furman. Moreover, even a great performance against Furman would hardly tell us much about this team, because, well, Furman is bad. Unfortunately for those hoping to see the Gamecocks take on some real competition, our next game is against winless North Carolina Central, a team that has yet to come within less than nine points of winning a game and that lost to Wake Forest by almost 50. The games against Clemson and Baylor can't get here soon enough for Gamecocks hoops fans.