Five things we learned from South Carolina's loss to Texas A&M

Despite a tough effort, South Carolina fell at home to Texas A&M, 76-72. The loss moved the Gamecocks to 0-9 in conference matchups this season.

Here are five things we learned from watching the way South Carolina performed on Saturday.

There’s no “quit” in “Gamecocks”

Literally, none of the letters are found in the word. But this team really hasn’t quit. There’s plenty of programs that, after staring a losing record in the face, would give up. South Carolina is continuing to give its all despite holding the worst conference record in the SEC.

On Saturday night, Texas A&M raced out to a double-digit lead in the first half after a 15-0 run. But Lamont Paris’s group never showed any lack of discipline. Jamarii Thomas and Collin Murray-Boyles kept their feet on the gas offensively.

After facing a 13-point deficit in both the first and second half, South Carolina clawed back to a one-possession game multiple times. A stingy defense combined with a decent showing from deep led to a close finish. It’s very unlikely that this team is making the postseason. But it’s clear that Paris has this team motivated, and they could very well play spoiler in the SEC.

Collin Murray-Boyles is a first-round NBA Draft pick

Through 15 minutes on Saturday night, the sophomore forward didn’t look like it. But he picked up the pace. Murray-Boyles didn’t pick up his first bucket until just over four minutes to go in the first half. In those four minutes, however, he scored ten Gamecocks points in a row.

He kept up that pace in the second half, but also flashed the court vision that NBA scouts are currently salivating over. One play in particular stood out. Down five points, Jamarii Thomas tossed the ball inside the paint to Murray-Boyles. But realizing he was imminently tripled-teamed, the forward slapped the ball outside to a wide-open Morris Ugusuk on the wing. Ugusuk, of course, splashed the three, and Colonial Life Arena went wild.

Murray-Boyles isn’t the size of the typical NBA power forward. He’s certainly a small forward in the association. And he’s only made five threes this season, which is, unfortunately, a prerequisite for any potential NBA big man. But his basketball IQ is through the roof. He sees the whole court, his footwork is undeniably in the upper echelon of SEC big men, and the potential is clearly visible. NBA scouts are watching, and executives surely like what they’re seeing.

It’s difficult to prepare for Wade Taylor IV

Texas A&M entered Saturday night as the lowest-rated team from deep in the SEC. But courtesy of one individual, they bucked that trend. Seemingly perennial All-SEC candidate Wade Taylor IV was on fire from three, especially in the first half. The Dallas native made five shots from beyond the arc in the first twenty minutes.

Should the Gamecocks have seen this coming? He shot 1-of-7 last game. But the game prior against Texas? He was 5-of-8 from deep. Taylor is a special talent. But only Stephen Curry should be contested 35 feet from the basket. Sometimes, really good players just perform on a level that a defense really can’t do anything about. That happened Saturday night. And if it weren’t for Taylor’s heroics, this was a game that easily should’ve gone South Carolina’s way.

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The whistle isn’t the be-all and end-all … but discipline goes a long way on defense

Alabama leads the SEC with 18.5 fouls per game. And they’re 19-3. But that’s not to say hacking an opponent is a good strategy. The Gamecocks committed 20 fouls on Saturday night. Texas A&M ended up with just 11. Funnily enough, South Carolina actually had quite the night from the line on Saturday. A team that was reliably unreliable from the stripe shot 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line.

The issue was that the Aggies attempted 30 free throws. Sure, some of that can be chalked up to the intentional fouls towards the end of the second half. But when one team has 18 more attempts from the line than the other? That’s a sign that a defense might need to have better control of their extremities when the opponent is taking a shot. (Especially in a loss with a four-point margin.)

More Thomas leads to less turnovers

Thomas came off the bench against Mississippi State and Georgia, scoring 19 points in each game. But he was reinserted into the starting lineup against Texas A&M. That worked in South Carolina’s favor, as the team finally shed their turnover bug after a five-game affliction.

Just 12 turnovers were tallied by the end of the night. That’s less than the 15.9 turnovers per game the Gamecocks had accrued against conference foes. Thomas still wore a brace on his knee, but it didn’t seem to affect his performance. The offense seemed to flow at a level that had previously escaped the Gamecocks this calendar year.

And they did it in different ways, too. At the start of the game, the team was finding success behind the arc. As the game went on, however, the ball was moved inside and Murray-Boyles was picking up inside shots left and right. Without Thomas, those movements offensively aren’t possible. His threat to score from deep (3-for-8 on 3PA on Saturday) also provides valuable spacing on the perimeter.

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