South Carolina's Strong Defensive Start Dooms Missouri

The #20 Missouri Tigers had to be telling themselves yesterday, "If we can come out strong against South Carolina, we've got a chance to win."   In the Gamecocks last several games, especially against SEC conference foes Arkansas and Vanderbilt, #2 South Carolina struggled out of the gate.  Against the Razorbacks, the Gamecocks were tied at nine after one quarter.  Against the Commodores, the Gamecocks were tied at halftime and were losing late in the third quarter before rallying to win.

So it only seemed natural for the Tigers to feel a strong start would go a long way.  During warm-ups, my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, noted that Missouri seemed to have a lot of players practicing, more than South Carolina (two bench players have the left the Gamecocks in the last week, leaving them with eleven players, still plenty given their talent).   Matthew and I would find out within a few minutes of game action why that was the case.

As for the Tigers hoping for a sluggish start from their opponent, too bad Dawn Staley had her Gamecocks ready from the get go.

The home crowd of 15,934 that packed Colonial Life Arena yesterday seemed to pump life into South Carolina from tip-off.   The Gamecocks height and athleticism on defense frustrated the Tigers immediately in the first quarter.  In the first seven and a half minutes of the first quarter, Missouri missed all thirteen shots from the field and turned the ball over four times.

Meanwhile, it was obvious what Missouri's game plan was on defense.  Physical defense that would have made Bruiser Flint proud.  They picked up seven fouls in the first five and half plus minutes in the game.  My color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, commented that we were going to see at least one Missouri player foul out and noted "So that's why they have so many players!"

Meanwhile, South Carolina was able to slog their way through Missouri's physical play to score enough points to make a difference early on.  Alaina Coates hit a three point play to put the Gamecocks up to stay 3-0.  Neither team would score for the next three plus minutes as the Gamecocks missed on five straight shots. Finally,  Khadijah Sessions would score on four free throws, sandwiching a three point play by Tiffany Mitchell and a free throw from Alaina Coates.  South Carolina was up 11-0 with four plus minutes left in the first quarter.

During this time, Missouri Freshman Sophie Cunningham "enamored" herself with the Gamecocks fans due to her physical play, especially one fan behind us in Section 115.  That fan kept yelling at the top of her lungs "SOOOPHIE!", among other things.

Missouri finally made a basket from Kayla Robinson nearly eight minutes into the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 17-5.

The Tigers came out scoring in the second quarter with five quick points, including a three pointer by Maddie Stock to cut the lead to ten, 20-10.   But the Gamecocks would respond with a 13-2 run over the next nearly five minutes. Mitchell would lead the way, scoring six of those thirteen points.  Her two free throws would cap the run and make the score 33-12.   South Carolina would end up leading at halftime 35-17.  Missouri almost had as many fouls, SIXTEEN, as points, seventeen.

The start of the second half saw Missouri come out strong from the locker room.   The Tigers outscored the Gamecocks 12-4 over the first minute and a half.  Sophie Cunningham continued to ingratiate herself with the Gamecock faithful, scoring a basket to cut the lead to ten 39-29.

After a Coates basket that put South Carolina up twelve, Mitchell took over from there.  She scored the next seven straight points; a layup assisted by Tina Roy, a three pointer again assisted by Roy and then finally, she took matters in her own hands.  Mitchell stole the ball and drove in for a layup.  The Gamecocks were back up nineteen 48-29 and the game was over for all intensive purposes.

Except for the fan that was "enamored" with Sophie Cunningham.  Sophie would pick up her third foul midway through the third quarter, which ended with South Carolina up 56-34.  In the fourth quarter, she would quickly pick up fouls four and five which resulted in our fan yelling "BYE SOPHIE!!"

As Matt had predicted, a Missouri player fouled out.  In fact, two fouled out, as Jordan Frericks fouled out later.  Missouri would use THIRTEEN players in the game, as the entire team picked up thirty four fouls.  South Carolina took full advantage, hitting on thirty two of their forty three free throw attempts in the 83-58 drubbing of Missouri.

Mitchell led all scorers with nineteen points, shooting eight of nine from the free throw line. Coates and Wilson each had double doubles.  Coates had thirteen points and twelve rebounds, while Wilson had eleven points, eleven rebounds and six blocks.  Jatarie White came off the bench for the Gamecocks and added eleven points.
Missouri was held to thirty one percent from the field, including four of twenty one from beyond the arc, as South Carolina's overall team height and quickness were too much for the Tigers.  Only Ciera Porter was in double figures scoring for Missouri with ten points.

With the win, the Gamecocks are now 15-0 on the season and have matched the #22 undefeated men's team in record.   Both teams are now a combined 30-0 on the season, a truly remarkable fact given conference play for men's and women's basketball is already a week old.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for South Carolina.  They play another two ranked teams in a row.  First, a road match-up with #10 Kentucky and then a home game vs. #13 Texas A&M.  

But if they come out and play defense as well as they did against #20 Missouri, it won't matter who they play. The Gamecocks look primed for another SEC conference championship.

A strong start always helps.

Tigers Get Some Consolation (Recap of Clemson vs. South Carolina)

Eight days after South Carolina defeated Clemson for the fourth time in a row in their long storied football rivalry, the two schools hooked up again at the Colonial Life Arena  in a men's basketball game.  This time there were no burnings of each other school's mascot.  Just a high noon start time for the Tigers and the Gamecocks.

Both teams were coming off a loss in a conference challenge.  Clemson lost at home to Purdue by twelve in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.   Meanwhile, South Carolina got hammered in Queens by St John's in the Big East/SEC Challenge.  Thus there was added incentive in the rivalry between these two Palmetto State schools.

When I got to Colonial Life Arena about forty minutes before game time, it was apparent that this was not Wisconsin Milwaukee the Gamecocks were playing.  The parking lots were full and the ticket scalpers instead of saying "Need Tickets?" had signs saying "Need tickets!"  I must have been asked at least five times if I was selling my tickets.

Inside the arena, for the first time this season, the seats behind each side of the basket were mostly full and there were a good number of people in the upper deck,.  Again, nothing sells tickets like a good intrastate rivalry.

The game started off with Michael Carrera being fouled on a shot attempt.  Carrera hit one of two free throws to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.  It was the last time that South Carolina had a lead the entire half. It took over seven minutes, but Clemson would go on a 14-2 run to go up 14-3 with twelve minutes left until halftime.

The Gamecocks were struggling from the field, missing eight of their first nine shots.  If they weren't missing shots, South Carolina's was turning the ball over.  The Gamecocks' season long weakness of being careless with the ball continued as they turned the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes.  To complicate things, the Gamecocks' big men all got into foul trouble.  Carrera would have three fouls in the first half and Lakeem Jackson and RJ Slawson would each have two fouls.

Despite the first eight minutes, South Carolina did give their fans two reasons to be hopeful.  First, Bruce Ellington made his home game debut as he entered the game for Eric Smith. The crowd gave him a large BRUUUCE cheer upon his entrance.

Shortly thereafter, Brenton Williams entered the game to a warm welcome.  Williams had suffered what appeared to be a scary neck injury against St  John's after a Red Storm player landed on him while he was driving for a layup.  Williams was taken off the court on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital in New York.  Amazingly, Williams was playing only three days after the incident and he celebrated by burying a three pointer to end the Tigers run.

A K.J. McDaniels three put Clemson back up by double digits, 17-6.  They had opportunities to extend the lead further, but the Tigers turned the ball over four times and missed all three of their shots over a four minute span.  The Gamecocks cut the lead down to seven before Clemson scored five straight points to put their lead back in double digits, 23-11.

But the Gamecocks responded with an 11-0 run over the next six minutes as Williams scored six of the eleven points.  South Carolina now was back within one point and also finally had the crowd fully involved in the game.   After dominating most of the first half, Clemson went into halftime only up one point, 28-27.

The crowd gave their largest cheers of the day for the halftime festivities.  That's because there was a presentation/celebration of the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry trophy. Coach Steve Spurrier and several players, including the phenomenal Jadeveon Clowney, came out to a thunderous ovation.  Athletic Director Ray Tanner first spoke, then Spurrier talked for several minutes, which included a funny Wofford/Clemson comparison (you had to be there).  It was a reminder that football is the big sport in Columbia, even at  halftime of the biggest non conference basketball home game of the season.

The start of the second half saw the Gamecocks score the first four points to take their first lead of the game since 1-0.  Layups by Williams and Jackson put South Carolina up 31-28. It looked as if the Gamecocks would make it two straight rivalry wins over the Tigers.

But Clemson responded with a 13-2 run over the next few minutes as the Tigers started using their frontcourt size advantage.  McWilliams scored seven points and added an assist during the run.  The Tigers were now up 41-33 with twelve and a half minutes left in the game.

The lead grew as South Carolina continued to have problems containing Clemson's big men.  Devin Booker scored six straight points and extended Clemson's lead to twelve, 49-37.  One had to wonder if Clowney was available for a few minutes to guard the paint.

But Ellington and Williams led a Gamecocks' 10-2 comeback as they scored seven of those points. An Ellington layup cut the Tigers' lead to four, 51-47.  At the under four minute media timeout, the crowd was now out at its loudest point of the game, halftime football game celebration excluded.

But Damarcus Harrison quieted the crowd with a big three pointer to put the Tigers up seven, 54-47.  He wasn't on the court long enough to celebrate it, as he quickly picked up his fifth foul.  But Carrera made only one of two free throws.

From that point, the game became a free throw shooting contest and the Tigers made their free throws.  In fact, Clemson would shoot 27 of 37 from the charity stripe and down the stretch, they put the game out of reach.  The Tigers would go up by as many as twelve before settling for a 64-55 win.

McDaniels, Booker and Rod Hall would each score in double figures for the Tigers.  Together they combined for forty four of the sixty four points scored by Clemson. McDaniels added five blocks and Booker had two of his own.

For the Gamecocks, their bench had a strong game as Ellington, Williams and Mindaugas Kacinas each scored in double figures and combined for thirty eight points.  Unfortunately, the South Carolina starters combined only scored fourteen points. The Gamecocks shot only 4 of 15 from beyond the arc and 34.6 percent overall from the field.  They also had nineteen turnovers.

For South Carolina, it was their second loss in a row after winning five of their first six games. It was also their second loss at home on the season. The Gamecocks look to bounce back with another home non conference game Friday night vs. Jacksonville.  Coach Frank Martin's team will likely have to bounce back without Ellington, who will be practicing with the football team now that South Carolina is in the Outback Bowl vs. Michigan on January 1st.

Clemson had gathered a measure of revenge beating South Carolina on its home court.  It was a solid road win for the Tigers, who are now 6-2. Coach Brad Brownell had to be pleased with the effort.

But you got the feeling that all things considered, the Clemson fans in attendance would have much rather won the football game instead.