What to Know About South Carolina Ahead of Gators' Bout with Gamecocks

The Gators travel to South Carolina on Wednesday.

South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson leads the Gamecocks in scoring. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Following their first defeat in their home arena in over a year, the No. 19 Florida Gators now quickly shift their focus to a road trip to Columbia to face the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday. 

The Gators are 4-1 in their last five meetings on the road against the Gamecocks. Their most recent outing in Colonial Life Arena came down to the final moments, with former Gator Will Richard’s game-winning layup that secured a 70-69 victory. 

South Carolina has had a rocky start to their conference slate, winning just two of their first seven games against SEC opponents. They are 11-9 on the season overall and are coming off an ugly loss to the Texas A&M Aggies last Saturday. 

The Gamecocks have struggled to put points on the board so far this season. In each of their conference losses, the offense has scored 74 points or fewer. As for their victories, they have scored north of that figure. They sit at No. 14 in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 78.3 points per game. 

On the other hand, the South Carolina defense ranks fifth in the conference in scoring defense, surrendering 73 points per game. However, against some of the better opponents the SEC has to offer, their defense has looked shaky. It allowed 108 points to Arkansas and 92 to Texas A&M. 

Four Gamecocks enter the matchup scoring in double figures. The leader of the group is Meechie Johnson. The point guard for the Gamecocks is logging 15.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. 

The others included in that group are Mike Sharavjamts, Elijah Strong and Kobe Knox. Sharavjamts is scoring 11.3 points per game, Strong is adding 11 and Knox is providing 10.1. 

Like the Gators, the Gamecocks are one of the more unreliable 3-point shooting teams in the SEC. While they are above the Gators in this category, the Gamecocks are still the league’s 13th-worst 3-point shooting team, connecting on 32.2 percent of their attempts. 

One area Florida will surely look to dominate is on the glass. 

Florida is the No. 1 team in the country in rebounding margin and the No. 1 in the SEC in total team rebounds. Conversely, South Carolina is T-234th in Division I in rebounding margin and last in the league in team rebounds. South Carolina struggles on the defensive glass, too, averaging 24.95 defensive rebounds per game.  

Additionally, the Gators' frontcourt, like almost every game, has the size advantage over the Gamecocks’ frontcourt. There are only two 7-footers on the roster for South Carolina, and both play shy of 10 min per game. 

Tip-off for the contest between Florida and South Carolina in Colonial Life Arena is at 9 p.m. The SEC Network is broadcasting the matchup.