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After a 68-50 win against Vermont last Thursday, South Carolina has a chance to advance to 8-0 this afternoon against Frank Martin’s alma-mater, Florida International. This is the Gamecocks’ last home game until December 21 (Clemson). This will be the first meeting with Florida International since an 84-72 Gamecocks win in December of 2013.
Game start: 2 p.m. at Colonial Life Arena.
TV: None. Stream: SEC Network+ or WatchESPN.
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia.
Three Point Preview:
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- After three straight games of scoring less than 70 points, the Gamecocks will be looking to iron some things out on offense before the game against Seton Hall. One guy to get going is Duane Notice. The thousand point scorer has been held to only nine points in the last two contests. He has been held to less than ten points in four of the seven games this season. Look for Sindarius Thornwell and the rest of the Gamecocks to try and get Notice going early.
- The biggest boost for the Gamecocks lately has come from big-men, Chris Silva and Maik Kostar. Kotsar, the freshman from Estonia, has hit double figures in the last four games. Not to be out-done, his partner down low, Silva, has hit double figures in five of seven contests this season. The big guys have stayed out of foul trouble recently and provided a steady outlet for the offense.
- Florida International enters the contest on the back of an 84-81 overtime loss to Elon, dropping the Panthers to 3-5 on the season. The Panthers do score the basketball though, averaging 74.9 points per game. The danger men for the Panthers are guard Donte McGill and PF Michael Kessens. McGill enters the contest averaging 19.1 points per game, shooting 91 percent from the foul line. Kessens, a transfer from Alabama, is averaging a double-double with 14.9 points per game and 12.1 rebounds. The transfer broke a school record with 23 rebounds in their last game. He scored 9 points in the two games combined against Alabama last season.