Pregame glance: South Carolina

This weekend the Ohio State men’s basketball team will compete in their third “big” game of the season as they play host to the South Carolina Gamecocks.  Coming off a blowout victory over Florida Gulf Coast, the Buckeyes will need to be focused to overcome an aggressive SC team.  A win over the Gamecocks would take Ohio State to 10-0 on the season and further strengthen our claim as one of the elite teams in the country.

South Carolina will be looking to improve on their own strong record, as they currently stand at 7-1.  Their lone loss came to Michigan State early in the season in a hard-fought game, so there’s little doubt that the Gamecocks are an opponent to be reckoned with.  Other highlights on the season thus far include a double-overtime win over Western Kentucky and a victory over rival Clemson earlier in December.

Despite being from a major conference, South Carolina’s basketball resume is somewhat limited historically.  They only have eight NCAA Tournament appearances and one SEC championship (1997) to their name, although they did win the NIT in both 2005 and 2006, indicating that the program has not exactly been a cupcake year-to-year.  Much of the school’s basketball success occurred years ago, particularly in the 60’s and 70’s under coach Frank McGuire.  Current coach Darrin Horn led the team to a 21-win season in his first campaign, but failed to build upon the strong initial outing, going 15-16 last season.

South Carolina has been described as a team whose record will suffer once conference play begins, yet still be a team for which others develop a healthy fear due to the Gamecocks’ style of play and upset-ability.  Their scrappy nature is evidenced by the fact that they rank sixth in the country in rebounding, crashing the boards at a ridiculous rate of over 43 caroms per game.  The game this weekend in Columbus should be yet another up-tempo game, but the Buckeyes may benefit if they are able to slow the pace down and pound away with Sullinger on the inside.  Like Ohio State, South Carolina has a lot of youth on their team.  There are only two seniors on the roster, and two freshmen are featured in the starting lineup.

Guard Bruce Ellington, one of the freshman, leads the way for the Gamecocks and is the team’s only double-digit scorer on average, contributing around 13 points per game.  Ellington only stands 5’9, so the Buckeye guards may be able to take advantage of the size differential, particularly on the defensive end, as Ellington averages four turnovers per game.  Senior Sam Muldrow starts down low for the Gamecocks and will be next in line to test the talents of Jared Sullinger.  Muldrow is a defensive presence swatting away 2-3 shots per game, so it should be a battle in the paint.

As we’ve seen on multiple occasions this season, look for a fast-and-furious start that leads into the Buckeyes wearing down South Carolina in the second half with our defense and multi-faceted scoring attack.  It will be interesting to see Aaron Craft go up against Ellington in a battle of freshman point guards.  I expect Craft is up for the challenge.

The game will be played at 2:00pm in the Schott and can be seen on CBS.