Five things we learned from South Carolina's seventh straight loss in SEC play

This was undeniably a valiant effort, no question about it. It just wasn’t enough to seal the deal yet again.

South Carolina could’ve rolled over when trailing by double digits late in the second half on Saturday. The Gamecocks fought all the way back and gave themselves a chance to win after forcing overtime. But as has been the case all season, their own shortcomings held them back from winning in a 65-60 loss to No. 14 Mississippi State.

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

The losing streak reaches a new low

With a seventh consecutive loss, the Gamecocks are now off to their worst SEC start in program history. It’s a shame because there’s a real argument that this losing streak shouldn’t have ever gotten out of hand like it has.

While they’ve lost three games by 20 or more points, they’ve also lost four games by five or less points. There’s been some really bad basketball, but there’s also been some better moments where the team fell short in the end. There really hasn’t been much in between for them in these losses.

To be fair, South Carolina has endured a tough conference schedule this season, which has played at least some role in the losing streak. But at the same time, every SEC team is going through the same thing because of how good the league is this year. The Gamecocks are shooting themselves in the foot at the end of games, resulting in the close calls they’ve had.

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A pretty terrible shooting day

In the closer losses, there’s always been a particular reason why the Gamecocks couldn’t get the win and it usually came down to something they did wrong. In most cases, it’s been turnovers and sloppy basketball. There was some of that on Saturday, but it wasn’t the sole reason why they lost yet again.

The bigger issue was just how bad the overall shooting performance was. South Carolina went 17-for-58 from the field, good for a measly 29.3 percent. It also went 4-for-20 from behind the arc.

The second half showing was the saving grace and made the overall number look a little less bad than it already looked. The Gamecocks shot 40.7 percent in the second half, which led to a late comeback to tie the game. But when you realize they went 5-for-21 from the field in the first half and 1-for-6 in overtime, that became a losing recipe.

The one saving grace that kept them in the game were free throws. As a team, they went 22-for-29 at the line, which in theory cost them the game with seven misses in a five-point loss. In the same vein, Mississippi State could’ve handled business no problem if it weren’t foul happy.

Defense is keeping this team in games

For all of South Carolina’s problems, defense isn’t one of them. After giving up 85 and 88 points in the first two games of SEC play, the defense has really locked in and looked much better over the last five games.

While Mississippi State never trailed on Saturday, the Bulldogs went through their share of struggles, as the Gamecocks forced 17 turnovers and held them to 41.8 percent shooting. They were 6-of-26 from three-point range and only had five second chance points.

Since Jan. 11, South Carolina has held opponents to 69.8 points per game, keeping three teams within the 60-69 point range. The two exceptions were Oklahoma scoring 82 and Florida with 70. But even then, the defensive efforts in those games weren’t too bad. The point is that the Gamecocks will always have a fighters chance to win when their defense plays the way it has.

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Welcome back, Jamarii Thomas

In his first game back from injury, Jamarii Thomas wasted no time making an impact on Saturday. The senior point guard, who missed the previous four games with a right knee sprain, went for a game-high 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

Thomas wound up playing 33 minutes coming off the bench, which may seem like a lot right out of the gate for a guy who wasn’t 100 percent. Lamont Paris said Thomas was gassed and fatigued as the game wore on, which is understandable given his situation. Paris also said Thomas refused to come out of the game, even when he was tired.

Thomas turned the ball over five times, a common trend for South Carolina with 19 more turnovers on Saturday. But he also went 10-for-12 at the free throw line and played a big role in the second half comeback. Overall, it was good to see him back out there and playing relatively well, which is what this team needs.

They’re getting close but not there yet

The record hasn’t been good to start SEC play. There’s no real way to sugarcoat it or put a spin on it to make it look better. 0-7 is 0-7. But when you look at the ways in which South Carolina has lost, it has proven to be a better team than what the record indicates.

The Gamecocks did a great job of not letting the game slip away in the second half when they were down 14 points with 8:50 to go. Once they switched to the zone defense, something they did a lot of last year, it made a huge difference in making the comeback. It’s good to see that even during these tough times, they’re still playing hard and not giving up.

After the game, Paris said he felt like South Carolina’s day is coming. Not necessarily meaning their day to win, but more so recognizing what it is that prevents the team from finishing off games in a way where they win. The Gamecocks have been getting close to winning multiple games at this point. They just have to find ways to close out on a stronger note.

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