As a former player that's roughly 20 years removed from his playing days, it sill appears as if Bud Walton Arena is the toughest place to play in the SEC. It certainly appeared to be the case last night as a short-handed South Carolina team ran out of gas against a motivated Arkansas team. The Razorbacks, barring a collapse, showed that they're a NCAA Tournament Team. While they're not overly skilled at positions, with the exception of Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls, their style is unique and it forces teams to play at a pace that they're not comfortable with.
I think by now, you all know that I'm not a big Stats guy but a few stand out and tell the story about last night's game. South Carolina shot 27% from the field and turned it over 20 times. To compound the turnovers, Arkansas scored 21 points off of those turnovers. Those points signify bad turnovers because they led to transition baskets. Too much to overcome, especially on the road.
Going into last night's game, I had three keys for South Carolina. Let's see how they fared. I thought the Cocks needed to make it a half court game. Arkansas had more than 70 shot attempts, so that's fast fast fast. But I understand that fine line that players operate on. Because you're playing against pressure, you have to attack it aggressively and make the pressing team pay. Well, the flip side to that is if you're making shots, the plan works. If you're not making shots, now you play right into the hands of the pressing teams because they want to speed you up and make you take quick and rushed shots.
Obviously, USC didn't make shots last night(27%). In fairness to those guys, they had to take those shots. There is no way around it. You have to attack the press aggressively. Unfortunately, shooting has been this team's achilles heel all year long. Defensively, they're were they need to be because they hold their opponents to 36% shooting. That's impressive. They just need help from the offense.
I also thought it was key to contain Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls. Portis proved why he's arguably the most offensively polished post player in the league by scoring a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds but his impact was far greater than just numbers. He has a presence that permeates through that team. Qualls averages 15.9 points per game but has struggled as of late, so Mike Anderson decided to bring him off the bench. Even though he scored only 11 points, he had a few of those baskets that energized the crowd.
I remember tweeting last night when the score was tied at 19-19. While I was encouraged to see the Gamecocks come out the gates strong, I was scared to death of the pace. Not only because that's who Arkansas is but remember, Justin McKie and Demetrius Henry were out due to concussion symptoms. Shortly after I tweeted that, Arkansas expanded the lead.
Arkansas is 14-1 at home for a reason. It's going to take a special team to go there and come out victorious. Ole Miss won there but shot the basketball at an unbelievable rate.
In closing, it doesn't get any easier for the Cocks as they travel to another difficult venue in Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores, who just beat Florida on that same floor. Flush this game and try to get you one Saturday.
PS....Former USC Head Coach Darrin Horn was the studio analyst for the SEC Network. I imagine that was tough. I actually enjoy his color commentary. He shows a personality that was missing during his tenure in Columbia.
I think by now, you all know that I'm not a big Stats guy but a few stand out and tell the story about last night's game. South Carolina shot 27% from the field and turned it over 20 times. To compound the turnovers, Arkansas scored 21 points off of those turnovers. Those points signify bad turnovers because they led to transition baskets. Too much to overcome, especially on the road.
Going into last night's game, I had three keys for South Carolina. Let's see how they fared. I thought the Cocks needed to make it a half court game. Arkansas had more than 70 shot attempts, so that's fast fast fast. But I understand that fine line that players operate on. Because you're playing against pressure, you have to attack it aggressively and make the pressing team pay. Well, the flip side to that is if you're making shots, the plan works. If you're not making shots, now you play right into the hands of the pressing teams because they want to speed you up and make you take quick and rushed shots.
Obviously, USC didn't make shots last night(27%). In fairness to those guys, they had to take those shots. There is no way around it. You have to attack the press aggressively. Unfortunately, shooting has been this team's achilles heel all year long. Defensively, they're were they need to be because they hold their opponents to 36% shooting. That's impressive. They just need help from the offense.
I also thought it was key to contain Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls. Portis proved why he's arguably the most offensively polished post player in the league by scoring a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds but his impact was far greater than just numbers. He has a presence that permeates through that team. Qualls averages 15.9 points per game but has struggled as of late, so Mike Anderson decided to bring him off the bench. Even though he scored only 11 points, he had a few of those baskets that energized the crowd.
I remember tweeting last night when the score was tied at 19-19. While I was encouraged to see the Gamecocks come out the gates strong, I was scared to death of the pace. Not only because that's who Arkansas is but remember, Justin McKie and Demetrius Henry were out due to concussion symptoms. Shortly after I tweeted that, Arkansas expanded the lead.
Arkansas is 14-1 at home for a reason. It's going to take a special team to go there and come out victorious. Ole Miss won there but shot the basketball at an unbelievable rate.
In closing, it doesn't get any easier for the Cocks as they travel to another difficult venue in Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores, who just beat Florida on that same floor. Flush this game and try to get you one Saturday.
PS....Former USC Head Coach Darrin Horn was the studio analyst for the SEC Network. I imagine that was tough. I actually enjoy his color commentary. He shows a personality that was missing during his tenure in Columbia.
