How to watch and what to watch for: South Carolina closes out non-conference play with Florida A&M

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After being away for Christmas, South Carolina returns to the hardwood for the final time in 2023.

The Gamecocks (11-1) will close out non-conference play against Florida A&M on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.

The game will be available on ESPN Plus/SEC Network Plus, which requires a subscription. But it will also be available for streaming on Fubo TV.

Here are some things to watch for.

After another long break, how will South Carolina look?

The Gamecocks have been fortunate to have a good amount of time off in the early portion of this season. They’ve had spans where they haven’t played for at least a week. And they’ll be coming off another one after Christmas break.

In these situations, South Carolina has typically looked flat at the start but found ways to win. At some point, these sluggish outings might catch up, but it hasn’t so far.

But it’s college basketball and one bad run can be the difference between winning and losing. So the Gamecocks can’t mess around. They need to come out strong and play their game.

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Will Meechie be back?

The last time South Carolina played, it didn’t have leading scorer Meechie Johnson available. He missed the game on Dec. 22 with some inflammation in his knee.

However, head coach Lamont Paris said it was a day-to-day situation and nothing long-term. So with that in mind, it’s easy to assume he’ll be full-go on Saturday. But at the same time, it might be wise to give Johnson another day’s rest.

South Carolina played just fine without him last time. And it will be a facing another foe it should beat no problem. It might just be better to let him rest since the team doesn’t play again until Jan. 6.

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Let other teams make mistakes

South Carolina has proven to be a different team over these first 12 games of the year. It’s not a coincidence that it sits at 11-1. The team’s play has been so much better.

But the Gamecocks are forcing opponents to make mistakes. Against Elon, they forced 15 turnovers and had 17 points off those miscues. It’s vital to keep making that a habit as it will result in more wins.

Final tune-up, take advantage of it

This will be the final game of South Carolina’s, for the most part, weak non-conference slate. Its best win came against Grand Canyon back before Thanksgiving.

With SEC play on the horizon, this is the Gamecocks’ last chance to get ready for what’s to come. Conference play will be a different type of animal. They went 4-14 in the SEC last year and will look to be much better than that. But finishing out 12-1 before then provides a lot of hope for the future.

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Scouting the opponent

It’s been a rocky start to the year for Florida A&M, who’s 2-8 this season. To their credit, the Rattlers have played a lot of quality competition and lost. In some games, they’ve kept it close.

But needless to say, this is a game South Carolina should win. Florida A&M checks in at No. 332 in the KenPom Rankings. It’s the Gamecocks’ third-worst opponent of the season so far.

Senior forward Keith Lamar leads the team in scoring with 14.4 points per game. It’s a massive jump from last year, where he only averaged 0.4 points per game. He’s been a guy that can play most, if not all, of the game and score in big numbers.

Despite being 6-foot-6, he can still sling it from behind the arc. Lamar also leads the Rattlers in rebounds (6.6) and steals (1.3) per game.

Senior guard Love Bettis is another name to watch for. He’s averaging 11.3 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting. He’s also shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (11-1) vs. Florida A&M (2-8)

When: Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

How to watch/listen: ESPN Plus/SEC Network Plus/107.5 FM

ESPN gives South Carolina a 97.5 percent chance to win

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