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Jan 15, 2023, 11:32 AM

Gamecocks lay big egg at home vs. Texas A&M, just days after upset win over Kentucky

Michael Lananna

There’s no middle ground with the South Carolina men’s basketball team.

Four days after Tuesday’s exhilarating, out-of-nowhere victory at Kentucky in Rupp Arena, the Gamecocks fell apart at home against Texas A&M. The Aggies never trailed Saturday night, defeating USC 94-53 at Colonial Life Arena in another lopsided SEC loss for Lamont Paris’ team.

In their last three games, the Gamecocks have lost by 43 points to Tennessee, defeated the Wildcats for the first time in more than a decade on the road, then fell by 41 to the Aggies (12-5, 4-0 SEC). It’s one extreme after another for a Gamecocks (8-9, 1-3) team composed primarily of veteran transfers and raw underclassmen.

Saturday’s game was the first of a three-game homestand for the Gamecocks and was perhaps a chance to gain some traction in the SEC after their stunning win in Lexington. Instead, the Gamecocks gave the Aggies their largest margin of victory in a conference game since moving to the SEC, surpassing their previous best SEC win of 34 points.

“Not our finest performance, that’s for sure,” Paris said. “We got off to a rough start offensively. And then at some point we were letting the proverbial tail wag the dog in that our defense was being affected by the offense.

“... There were a lot of things going on, but I think the biggest one was just defensive, competing from a physical standpoint.”

The Gamecocks will next host Ole Miss and No. 21 Auburn. Here’s what we learned from Saturday’s loss.
Hayden Brown injured

The Gamecocks suffered one of their biggest blows before they even stepped on the court.

Veteran forward Hayden Brown was on the bench for USC after suffering a deep thigh bruise in Thursday’s practice, a team spokesperson said. As for now, he’s considered day-to-day.

Paris said Brown took a knee to the left thigh and his status Tuesday’s game isn’t clear, but Paris provided an optimistic report after the game.

“He’s made tremendous progress from the day that it first happened,” Paris said. “He went through shoot-around and wasn’t able to play obviously, but he’s made some significant strides.”

With USC lacking depth and experience, Brown’s absence loomed large for USC. He’s tied for third in scoring on USC with 11.2 points per game and is second with 5.1 rebounds per game. But The Citadel grad also brings a level of grit, veteran savvy and physical play that this young Gamecocks team struggles to channel with any consistency.

Freshman Zachary Davis started in Brown’s place and fellow freshman Daniel Hankins-Sanford mixed in behind him. Though both bring more size and athleticism than Brown, they’re raw in the other aspects of their game. Davis finished as USC’s leading scorer with 13 points, but he scored 10 of those points in the second half and did much of that damage while the game was well out of reach.
Lack of physicality

Losing Brown likely factored into an overall lack of physicality on defense and near the rim by the Gamecocks.

Paris talks often about taking pride in defense as a team and making life uncomfortable for opposing offenses, but the Aggies were comfortable from opening tip, jumping out to a 12-2 lead and cruising to a 50-18 lead by halftime.

“First half, we came out and gave up too many points,” sophomore guard Jacobi Wright said. “They just kind of bullied us. We didn’t really get too many stops on defense early and that just continued the rest of the game.”

Even with the 7-foot Josh Gray starting his second straight game at center, the Gamecocks were non-factors inside. Texas A&M dominated USC on the boards, leading the rebound battle 48-16. USC also only scored 16 points in the paint, settling for jumpshots and failing to drive the lane.

“That’s been part of our kryptonite,” Paris said. “If I look at teams we’ve had lopsided losses to, there’s a lot of physicality and aggression involved in what those teams do on the defensive end. .... They’re an extremely aggressive team, and we didn’t match that level of aggression.”
USC’s shots don’t fall, Jackson struggles

A key piece of the Kentucky upset for USC was outside shooting, led by six 3-pointers in a 26-point effort by point guard Meechie Johnson.

But the Gamecocks couldn’t keep cooking from the perimeter and overall shot just 38% for the game.

Against the Aggies, the Gamecocks made just five of 19 3-point attempts (26%), and it was another rough game for talented freshman GG Jackson, who missed all six of his 3-point attempts and scored just five points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Next four USC MBB games

Tuesday: vs. Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

Jan. 21: vs. Auburn, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)

Jan. 25: at Florida, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Jan. 28: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)

This story was originally published January 14, 2023 7:54 PM.