This is a recovery game for Ole Miss (14-6, 5-2 SEC). That's not to say I expect it to be an easy win. Few SEC games ever are. But the Rebels need one and South Carolina (8-12, 1-6 SEC) in the friendly confines of Tad Smith Coliseum gives Ole Miss a better chance than most would to get right after suffering an 86-70 loss at Tennessee Wednesday.
The focus for the Rebels has to be on getting more from Anthony Perez, Sebastian Saiz, Aaron Jones and Snoop White. The Rebels need production out of at least one and probably two of those four to be successful. Marshall Henderson and Jarvis Summers will provide their share of points, but they need help inside with rebounds and a 3rd scoring threat to win in this league. Hopefully Tennessee was a wake-up call for those four.
South Carolina's RPI is 128. The Gamecock's had lost six straight conference games before beating Texas A&M 80-52 on Wednesday.
South Carolina ranks last in the SEC in league games field goal percentage defense (.482), but leads the conference in 3-point field goal shooting (.383). Freshman G Sindarius Thornwell and senior G Brenton Williams lead the team averaging 13.2 and 12.9 points per game, respectively, while sophomore F Michael Carrera paces the squad pulling down 4.8 boards per game. The Gamecocks rank just 11th in the SEC in rebounding offense in league games at 32.1 rpg, but are second in rebounding defense limiting opponents to just 31.4/game. In the first matchup two weeks ago, South Carolina out rebounded Ole Miss 40-31, but allowed the Rebels to shoot 52.2% from the field in the second half.
