Four takeaways: South Carolina loses to Mississippi State
South Carolina’s struggles on the hardwood continued, losing 74-68 to Mississippi State in Starkville.
It’s the Gamecocks’ second loss to the Bulldogs this season. With one more regular season game to go, here’s what we learned Tuesday night.
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Three-point shooting continues to be ineffective
At one point in Tuesday’s contest, some great shooting from the outside brought South Carolina back to life. Once the lead was regained, the offense sputtered.
The Gamecocks were 6-for-20 from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent but just 2-for-10 in the second half.
Meechie Johnson hit two of his five but the other two members of South Carolina’s big three–Hayden Brown and GG Jackson–combined to go 1-for-8. No other players but Johnson and Eli Sparkman (2-for-3) hit more than one three.
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GG Jackson bounces back
In an 85-45 loss to Tennessee last Saturday, there weren’t many standout performers for South Carolina. Jackson had a rough go of it, finishing with five points on 2-of-12 shooting.
But with a few days to regroup, Jackson performed much better against the Bulldogs. He finished with 22 points on 12 shots, knocking down all 11 of his free throws. Getting to the line a season-best 11 times was a marked improvement from the four combined free throws he had his previous two games.
Along with Hayden Brown, who also had a fine game, South Carolina needs Jackson to continue shooting the ball well. He’s a true difference-maker when he’s in the zone.
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Defensive struggles flare up late
While Mississippi State caught fire heading into halftime, the Gamecocks regrouped and played much better to start the second half. Although, the wheels started to fall off and the Bulldogs were unstoppable.
Mississippi State hit 7-of-9 shots in the final minutes to put the game out of reach. It was deflating since South Carolina was potentially one more strong run away from winning the game. But as has been the case all year, closing games out hasn’t been easy.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and scored 40 points in the paint. The Gamecocks were simply outmatched in crunch time. This is something that has to change next year.
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Second-half turnovers gave Mississippi State a chance
It wasn’t hard to see why Mississippi State is a great defensive team. It ranks fourth in the SEC in defensive efficiency (97.5).
After blowing their small lead, the Bulldogs forced nine turnovers in the second half. It gave them the window they needed to crawl back into the game and ultimately retake the lead for good. They scored 17 points off turnovers.
Not much is going to change with a few games to go but South Carolina needs to be stronger with the basketball.
Next game
Who: Georgia (16-14, 6-11 SEC) at South Carolina (10-20, 3-14 SEC)
When: Saturday, March 4 at 1 p.m.
Where: Colonial Life Arena (Capacity: 18,000)
All-time series: South Carolina leads 62-57 (Last matchup: Georgia won 81-78 in 2023)
How to watch/listen: SEC Network/107.5 FM
KenPom prediction: 70-69 Georgia (Gamecocks given a 48 percent chance to win)
