South Carolina too much for S.C. State in 92-50 win

While they all won't come as easy as South Carolina’s 92-50 win over South Carolina State, it was good for the team to get a victory over a team that they should easily handle on most nights.

Sindarius Thornwell showed the way for the fourth straight contest, depositing 22 points to lead all scorers. But it was Maik Kotsar stealing the spotlight with a perfect 7-7 shooting night for 15 points while adding a game-high eight boards.

There weren't many stats that didn’t go the way of the home team tonight. They controlled the boards (47-24) and had a strong night shooting from the floor (51% to 31%). Carolina dominated down low, recording 44 points to the Bulldogs’ 12. S.C. State couldn't contain the Gamecocks on second-chance opportunities, being outscored 30-4 in that department.

It bears repeating, again, that they won't be as easy as tonight’s game. Things get a lot tougher next week; Michigan comes to the CLA on Wednesday, followed by a date with Syracuse, a surprise Final Four team, in Brooklyn next Saturday. How those two games turn out could tell us a lot about this year’s South Carolina program.