How to watch/what to watch for: South Carolina opens SEC play versus Mississippi State

These next two and a half months will define South Carolina’s season. And it all starts on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (12-1) are back at home to begin their SEC slate with Mississippi State. Tip-off is at 12 p.m.

The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

Here are some things to watch for.

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Is this group ready for what’s to come?

South Carolina has been able to take care of business so far this season, only losing one game. But let’s call it for what it is: this team hasn’t beaten anyone worthwhile. Sure, Virginia Tech and Grand Canyon are good wins. But it is missing a great win.

Luckily, Mississippi State and the rest of the conference can provide just that. The Bulldogs are 11-2 on the year and ranked 30th in KenPom. If the Gamecocks really want to make it to some type of postseason tournament, they need to beef their resume up. And it can happen, they just need to win some of these big games in SEC play.

There does seem to be a sense of confidence and readiness for this 18-game stretch. It’s going to be a marathon. Only time will tell how they play.

Who’s going to lead the way?

Through the first 13 games, there hasn’t been one player in particular carrying the load. It’s felt like more of a group effort with everyone doing their part. That’s what you want in a team sport like basketball. But when times get tough, who’s going to be that guy who consistently steps up?

Two names that come to mind are Myles Stute and Ta’Lon Cooper. Both have enough experience to weather any type of storm. Stute has been around the SEC as he spent a few seasons at Vanderbilt. So he knows what’s to come. Cooper has seen just about everything in college basketball with stops at two other schools. At this point, the fifth-year guard is ready for anything.

You need these type of players to go through what will be a gauntlet. Not just for moral sake but also to win games. They have been big for South Carolina so far this year on both ends of the floor. They need to keep it up.

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Who guards Tolu Smith?

After missing the first 12 games of the year, senior forward Tolu Smith is back for Mississippi State. In his first action of the season, he nearly put up a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds against Bethune-Cookman.

When available, Smith is an absolute stud. He averaged 15.7 points per game on 57.2 shooting last year. Keep in mind, he’s 6-foot-11 and 245 pounds.

So he’s going to pose plenty of issues for South Carolina. Obviously, the team’s big men will have to be thrown on him. But who can guard him the most and well enough is the question that really needs to be answered. It could be a by committee situation to start the game and go from there.

Is this where Josh Gray emerges?

It seems like Josh Gray has been MIA for a while now. He has barely played lately. It’s almost surprising because he was such a big fixture for South Carolina last year.

At some point, he’s going to have to play. Lamont Paris was asked about what the deal has been with Gray and he said he will be playing a lot more in conference play. There are bigger players in the paint (Tolu Smith for instance) and Gray needs to be there to guard them. After all, he’s seven feet tall. His size needs to be utilized.

It just really comes down to whether or not he can be a big-time rebounder. He was solid last year and hasn’t been the same so far this year. If he can find that rhythm he had getting boards, he will be just fine.

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Scouting the opponent

Just like South Carolina, Mississippi State is off to a great start under head coach Chris Jans. The Bulldogs are off to an 11-2 start with losses coming against Georgia Tech and Southern, who is ranked 244 in KenPom.

Mississippi State’s best wins have come against No. 66 Washington State and No. 69 Northwestern. Outside of that, it only has two other wins over top 100 opponents.

In Smith’s absence, freshman guard Josh Hubbard has been leading the way for the Bulldogs. He’s the team’s typical leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting. He’s also shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range.

Outside of Hubbard and Smith, Mississippi State has two scorers averaging just under 10 points per game. Cameron Matthews is averaging 9.6 and Jimmy Bell Jr. with 9.3.

The Bulldogs have been very good defensively this season with a 92.6 adjusted defensive efficiency rating. That’s 12th-best in college basketball. They’re also top-10 in effective field goal percentage and three-point percentage for defense. So this will be a tough team for South Carolina to shoot against.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (12-1) vs. Mississippi State (11-2)

When: Saturday, Jan. 6 at 12 p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

How to watch/listen: CBS/107.5 FM

ESPN gives South Carolina a 45.2 percent chance to win

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