South Carolina will try to pull off a big upset when it travels to Kentucky for an SEC battle between struggling teams. The Gamecocks have lost four of their last six games, including an 85-42 setback against then-No. 8 Tennessee on Saturday. Kentucky had its two-game winning streak snapped in a 78-52 loss to then-No. 7 Alabama over the weekend.
South Carolina entered the season expected to be one of the worst teams in the conference, and that narrative has not changed thus far. The Gamecocks are only one game under the .500 mark, but they have only recorded two wins against major-conference teams. They opened SEC play with an 84-79 loss to Vanderbilt in overtime last Tuesday, but they covered the 10-point spread. Their second SEC game was a disaster, as they were dominated from start to finish in an 85-42 loss to Tennessee at home on Saturday. The Vols opened the game with a 24-7 lead and never looked back, handing South Carolina its worst conference loss in team history.
Final. #Gamecocks // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/aVR7xRZNXT
— Gamecock Men's Basketball (@GamecockMBB) January 7, 2023
First-year head coach Lamont Paris needs more from an offense that ranks last in the SEC in shooting and is No. 325 nationally in KenPom’s effective field goal percentage ratings (46.0). The Gamecocks are knocking down just 45.5% of their 2-pointers and 31.1% of their 3-pointers. They are also hitting just 62.8% of their free-throw attempts and are No. 219 in turnover rate. Their strength on the offensive end has been an offensive rebounding rate that is No. 33. They are facing a Kentucky defense that is No. 50 in adjusted efficiency. Star freshman forward Gregory Jackson leads South Carolina with 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, but he was held to zero points and one rebound in 22 minutes against Tennessee. Meechie Johnson Jr. (12.2), Chris Carter Jr. (11.8) and Hayden Brown (11.2) are each scoring in double digits as well.