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The last time the South Carolina Gamecocks won a basketball game, it was against the Florida Gators on Jan. 24. Unfortunately, history did not repeat itself, and the Gamecocks’ woes continued with an ugly 65-41 beatdown on Saturday afternoon in Columbia.
As has been the case during this five-game losing skid, South Carolina did very little well. Florida crushed the Gamecocks on the boards, outrebounding them 46-24, and held South Carolina to just 27.8% shooting while racking up 10 blocks. Chris Silva, who has been a bit of a Gator killer during his career, was limited to just 10 points and five rebounds, while the rest of the starters — Justin Minaya, Maik Kotsar, Hassani Gravett, and Evan Hinson — combined for only nine points. Frank Booker came off the bench to lead the Gamecocks with 17 points, providing most of South Carolina’s sparse highlights on the offensive end.
Coach Frank Martin was hit with a technical foul at one point during the first half, and was understandably still frustrated about the Gamecocks’ effort in the postgame presser:
Frank Martin naturally not happy. "I want to apologize to our fans." Says when he was hired, promised the hardest-working team you'd see every night. "I have not kept my word with the way we played today."
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) February 10, 2018
The Gamecocks have never lost six straight under Martin’s leadership, a pattern that will be tested against Tennessee next week.
Florida snapped a two-game losing streak to South Carolina, finally getting a measure of revenge for its loss in the Elite Eight last season.
Up next: The Gamecocks travel to the No. 15 Volunteers, which has been enjoying an incredibly and unexpectedly successful season. South Carolina lost previously to Tennessee in a tough one, 70-63, in Columbia.