The Gamecocks entered Knoxville riding a high but that was quickly deflated due to better team play out of the Vols.
Wayne Chism scored a career-high 30 points as No. 14 Tennessee routed South Carolina 79-53 on Saturday night.
The Vols (18-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) won their sixth straight over the Gamecocks (13-9, 4-4).
UT was simply more athletic and it seemed, dare I say, better coached. I want to tell myself that it was the six day layover between games that the Gamecocks had that affected their play but I know it has to do more with reality.
Reality being that Devan Downey is the offense. Devan Downey, who entered the game averaging 31.6 points in SEC play, finished with 26 points for the Gamecocks. If he is off, which he was, then the chances of a gamecocks win is slim to none. Face it Gamecock fans as it is the truth. The offense flows through him and if he is not getting his points then trouble looms for victory.
Credit to the Vols as they did a good job on defense the entire game. They limited the “Downey effect” by double teaming and get help defense to cause Devan to never find his shot.
What has been most surprising thus far in SEC play is that the Gamecocks do not really run set plays. They run a lot of screens on isolation and they spread the court to allow a drive but you just do not see any real good plays from Carolina. Look at the stat sheet from the UT game, the Gamecocks had 4 assists as a team in ‘Rocky Top.’ Yes 4. That means no ball movement and not making the ‘extra pass.’
I know it is ‘Devan versus the world’ but that could change a bit by getting other gamecock players involved in the offense. Currently, the plan is to give to Downey and either pray it goes in or get a rebound. Reminds me a bit of ‘street ball.’ I know Devan wants to get SEC POY and by him getting his 30 per game then it helps the case but I think the season is not lost so why resort to this? I would love to see Devan work on running the offense and making his teammates better around him. By doing this, more players get touches and the potential for added points exists. Do feel that if this is notion is ran half the time then Devan can still get his points and pad his stat tally.
But the question I have for Coach Horn related to this is –
Is our current team goal more focused on helping Devan get SEC POY honors or doing what it takes to get a NCAA bid?
I encourage you to watch the next Gamecocks game on Wednesday as they host the Florida Gators as you will see the answer play out in front of you.
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