C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
South Carolina (8-3) hosts Army (6-5) at 3 p.m. on the SEC Network Plus.
Thoughts on South Carolina
The Gamecocks hope to get two players back who missed time against Clemson in COVID protocols. Those names won’t explicitly be revealed until doors open and you can see who is and isn’t warming up, but Devin Carter did post an encouraging Instagram story with him walking into a building with basketball shoes so maybe he’s one of the two potentially returning. The other three who missed time are: James Reese, Wildens Leveque and Josh Gray.
That being said, the Gamecocks offense needs to have much better ball movement if it wants to beat Army and do it comfortably. The defense is good enough to keep most teams down but South Carolina is only assisting on 45.6 percent of made buckets, which isn’t great. Continuing to cut down on turnovers—which has been better at times—should help as well.
Like Frank Martin said, I would anticipate Keyshawn Bryant continuing to start at the four until AJ Wilson is healthy. There was some hesitancy to play him there early in the season because of the available size, but with Wilson out and the young bigs still needing to develop, Bryant is the best option there right now. Bryant needs to be better than what he was last game but is a good rebounder for his size, especially on the defensive end.
Scouting Army
Army is not a great offensive team and doesn’t shoot the ball well, but is a disciplined defense a little below average in terms of its efficiency numbers. The Black Knights don’t foul so South Carolina will have to hit shots.
It’s a team with D-I wins over Hartford, Merrimack, Marist and NJIT and losses to Duke, La Salle, Siena, Air Force and LIU.
Army is young, only 1.49 years of experience, but does have 49.1 percent of minutes returning from last year. They’re one of the smallest teams in D-I basketball averaging just 6-foot-3.
One of their more used players is sophomore point guard Jalen Rucker, who plays almost 81 percent of available minutes and shoots 40.8 percent from three. Senior shooting guard Aaron Duhart and junior four Chris Mann are two guys who play a lot and play well.
Numbers to know
92.7 and 94.6—These are the efficiency numbers when South Carolina is on defense. The Gamecocks are top 45 nationally allowing just 92.7 points per 100 possessions while Army is 285th in the country scoring just 94.6. This is an opportunity for the Gamecocks to really put the clamps on and play good offense on the other end.
43.3 and 36.2—The free throw rates for both teams when South Carolina is defending. The Gamecocks are one of the worst teams in terms of opponent free throw rate, 43.3, while Army is top 40 nationally in getting to the line. South Carolina can’t allow Army to get a bunch of free points at the line.
34.6 and 29—South Carolina is hauling in 34.6 percent of its own misses, 32nd best nationally, while Army is middle of the road in terms of its offensive rebound rate (29). Whichever team steals more possessions and keeps the other team off the offensive glass has the best chance Wednesday.
Keys to victory
Play well in the open court—Both teams love to get up and down the floor and squeeze as many possessions as possible out of a game. South Carolina is top 50 in tempo while Army is just outside at 51. This game should have a ton of open court chances and the Gamecocks will need to execute transition offense well and not make any fouls when Army is in the open court. Then they’ll need to be quick in terms of setting up in the half court defense after makes and avoid easy run outs for Army.
Don’t foul—Army’s bread is buttered by getting inside and to the line with all but 30.8 percent of their points coming inside and at the line. South Carolina fouls far too much early in the season and will need to avoid sending Army to the line and force a team that doesn’t shoot the ball overly well to make jumpers.
Move the ball—South Carolina went from 31 assists against Allen to just four against Clemson and will need to not play as much isolation ball and move the rock to win. Doing that and playing maybe some more four-out with Bryant at the four should help with getting the ball to the perimeter and create driving lanes for easier shots and chances at the rim.
Thoughts on South Carolina
The Gamecocks hope to get two players back who missed time against Clemson in COVID protocols. Those names won’t explicitly be revealed until doors open and you can see who is and isn’t warming up, but Devin Carter did post an encouraging Instagram story with him walking into a building with basketball shoes so maybe he’s one of the two potentially returning. The other three who missed time are: James Reese, Wildens Leveque and Josh Gray.
That being said, the Gamecocks offense needs to have much better ball movement if it wants to beat Army and do it comfortably. The defense is good enough to keep most teams down but South Carolina is only assisting on 45.6 percent of made buckets, which isn’t great. Continuing to cut down on turnovers—which has been better at times—should help as well.
Like Frank Martin said, I would anticipate Keyshawn Bryant continuing to start at the four until AJ Wilson is healthy. There was some hesitancy to play him there early in the season because of the available size, but with Wilson out and the young bigs still needing to develop, Bryant is the best option there right now. Bryant needs to be better than what he was last game but is a good rebounder for his size, especially on the defensive end.
Scouting Army
Army is not a great offensive team and doesn’t shoot the ball well, but is a disciplined defense a little below average in terms of its efficiency numbers. The Black Knights don’t foul so South Carolina will have to hit shots.
It’s a team with D-I wins over Hartford, Merrimack, Marist and NJIT and losses to Duke, La Salle, Siena, Air Force and LIU.
Army is young, only 1.49 years of experience, but does have 49.1 percent of minutes returning from last year. They’re one of the smallest teams in D-I basketball averaging just 6-foot-3.
One of their more used players is sophomore point guard Jalen Rucker, who plays almost 81 percent of available minutes and shoots 40.8 percent from three. Senior shooting guard Aaron Duhart and junior four Chris Mann are two guys who play a lot and play well.
Numbers to know
92.7 and 94.6—These are the efficiency numbers when South Carolina is on defense. The Gamecocks are top 45 nationally allowing just 92.7 points per 100 possessions while Army is 285th in the country scoring just 94.6. This is an opportunity for the Gamecocks to really put the clamps on and play good offense on the other end.
43.3 and 36.2—The free throw rates for both teams when South Carolina is defending. The Gamecocks are one of the worst teams in terms of opponent free throw rate, 43.3, while Army is top 40 nationally in getting to the line. South Carolina can’t allow Army to get a bunch of free points at the line.
34.6 and 29—South Carolina is hauling in 34.6 percent of its own misses, 32nd best nationally, while Army is middle of the road in terms of its offensive rebound rate (29). Whichever team steals more possessions and keeps the other team off the offensive glass has the best chance Wednesday.
Keys to victory
Play well in the open court—Both teams love to get up and down the floor and squeeze as many possessions as possible out of a game. South Carolina is top 50 in tempo while Army is just outside at 51. This game should have a ton of open court chances and the Gamecocks will need to execute transition offense well and not make any fouls when Army is in the open court. Then they’ll need to be quick in terms of setting up in the half court defense after makes and avoid easy run outs for Army.
Don’t foul—Army’s bread is buttered by getting inside and to the line with all but 30.8 percent of their points coming inside and at the line. South Carolina fouls far too much early in the season and will need to avoid sending Army to the line and force a team that doesn’t shoot the ball overly well to make jumpers.
Move the ball—South Carolina went from 31 assists against Allen to just four against Clemson and will need to not play as much isolation ball and move the rock to win. Doing that and playing maybe some more four-out with Bryant at the four should help with getting the ball to the perimeter and create driving lanes for easier shots and chances at the rim.
