Basketball Breakdown

Quick Recap:

South Carolina controlled the game from the outset however struggled to put the game away in the first half as both teams shot lights out.  The Gamecocks were 21-of-35 in the first half for a solid 60 percent while Jacksonville was 16-of-29 for 55 percent. 

Carolina ran out to a 9-2 lead early and while Jacksonville would cut the lead to one point at 20-19, the Gamecocks would respond with a 12-4 to go back up by nine and hold a steady lead throughout the half. Devan Downey would pitch in 12 points in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting however he would muster only one assist to four turnovers.  Carolina as a team would only dish out three assists in the half however did manage to turn the Dolphins over 11 times.

The Gamecocks would make a small run to start the second half and extend the lead to as many as 11 at 60-49 however the Dolphins would not go away.  With five and a half minutes remaining they would take the lead at 75-74 however the Gamecocks would respond to take the lead back right away and would never let it go. 

Downey would rock the Dolphins for 22 points in the second half to finish with 34 points for the game.  For the second straight game the Gamecocks would finish the game being out rebounded by five 35-to-30.  Carolina would finish the game shooting 35-of-61 from the floor for 57 percent and 6-of-12 from behind the three point line. Brandis Raley Ross would chip in 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Sam Muldrow provided a solid night with 12 points and eight rebounds.

For Jacksonville, guard Ben Smith would finish with 31 points in the losing effort as the Dolphins would make 31-of-62 from the field for the game for a 50 percent clip.

Player of the Game:  Devan Downey

With Archie out, it will have to be the Downey show again for a few weeks and on Friday night he put on a performance with 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting including knocking down two shots from behind the three point line.  With South Carolina searching for a constant second scorer the role will have to fall on Downey who played well constantly knocking down the big basket to keep the Gamecocks from losing momentum.

One area that Downey must show improvement on is the assist to turnover statistic as on the night he finished with just one assist to five turnovers.  Being the primary ball handler is not an easy task however Downey can ill afford to have nights with five plus turnovers as they could spell disaster against better teams.

Stat of the Game:  Five assists to 17 turnovers

At times it appears the Gamecocks are dead set on taking the ball to the basket instead of looking to make the extra pass to the open man.  Several of the turnovers do come in transition however it is concerning that five of the turnovers came from point guard Downey who has had problems early in the season handling the ball.  Carolina is by no means a selfish ball club and some of the lack of assists can be contributed to not knocking down shots when they are open and receiving a pass in a good position to score. This is a big area that the Gamecocks have to focus on as they have to set their teammates a little better.

It would also help for freshman Ramon Galloway or senior Brandis Raley Ross to settle into the point guard position a little better in order to help set up teammates and be able to drive and dish to open post players instead of trying to finish at the rim.

What does it all mean?

Carolina looked like a team that had taken a couple days off as they played hard and did some good things but again struggled guarding the ball allowing the Dolphins to shoot 50 percent from the floor and rebounding as they were out rebounded again.  Losing a player like Dominique Archie is going to hurt any team but on a team where you lost your number two score for a year ago, losing Archie hurts even more.  Carolina still has to find a guy to be a constant number two guy or find a rotation of two or three players such as Mike Holmes, Sam Muldrow and Brandis Raley Ross that they will be able to count on each and every night to step.

Muldrow stepped up nicely 12 points and eight rebound and Holmes continues to play as hard as any post player the Gamecocks have had this decade.  With him Horn, should enter each game with a solid idea of what he will get.  Raley Ross stepped up big in the win as he finished with 18 points however he will to be the question at guard as he has the ability to knock down some shots and take some pressure off Downey but can he do it night in and night out.

The rebounding statistic continues to worry me as there is no reason South Carolina should not dominate Jacksonville on the boards. They had more height and are the more physical team in general however again the struggled to gain a significant advantage and use a few  more offensive rebounds to establish a dominate lead.  Johndre Jefferson has seen his minutes decrease over the past few games while Austin Steed has played a little more and that could possibility be contributed to Steed being slightly ahead of Jefferson as far as knowledge of the system.

Carolina also should not be out rebounded by a smaller team the way they were tonight and the issue is becoming more glaring especially after the way Miami handled the Gamecocks in the Charleston finale.  That is an area that Horn and company will have to address as they work their way through the December schedule and head into SEC play against teams like Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt who are more physical and can match the Gamecocks in the height department

Stephen Spinella saw the most minutes of his young career playing 11 in a game where Horn and company needed to find out what the freshman is capable of contributing.  Spinella has a good bit of upside but still needs to improve his defensive ability as well as his ball handling to be able to contribute against SEC competition.  It will be interesting to see how he develops as Carolina continues to increase the talent on its roster with the incoming recruiting class next season and even the year after.