Gamecocks Hardwood Report: Volunteers Take Down USC

The South Carolina Gamecocks lost to the Tennessee Volunteers by the score of 73-67 in Knoxville.  The loss drops USC to 13-11 overall and 4-7 in SEC.  Is it safe to begin to think that postseason play is not a option for the Gamecocks basketball team in 2011?

South Carolina again played poorly in the first half only to try and surge forward late in the second half.  Overall, USC continued to depend too much on the three ball and it did not pay off (10-32 3FG).  Just think if a few more of those fell?  Also USC had 22 personal fouls which resulted in 21 points for UT at the free throw line.  Again not the smartest of smart play from Horn’s crew.  Poor shooting overall (24-73 FG), too many three ball attempts and too many fouls….all that equals a loss.

I want to see penetration from the guards and better play on the interior.  Seems that Malik Cooke is the only “big guy” playing consistent of late and his play needs to rub off on the other interior guys.  Yeah, Muldrow had 6 blocks but why on earth is he shooting six shots from three ball land?  He made just one of those but those are wasted shots in my view when he should be playing on the post more.  If Muldrow could improve his play with his back to the basket, he could really be a legit NBA prospect but it seems he does not want to play like that.

Let’s hope a lot of coaching is done over the next few days because USC travels to Lexington to play Kentucky on Saturday.  USC will need their “A” game and I am not ready to give up on USC making it to the NIT quite yet.  This team has flashes of goodness but need to be smarter and play consistent as a team for the full game. 

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