MBB: Five Things to Watch - Ole Miss

South Carolina visits Ole Miss Tuesday for a crucial conference game.

1.  Final stretch

South Carolina has six games left in the regular season. Looking at the schedule, South Carolina could easily go 3-3. It wouldn’t take a major upset to turn one of those losses into a win. A 4-2 finish would give South Carolina a .500 record in conference. That’s not bad heading into the SEC Tournament.

“We’re in a good spot. We’re not in a great spot, we’re in a good spot,” Frank Martin said. “We’re not in a bad spot. Some teams are in a bad spot, climbing a very steep hill late in the year. We’re in a good spot and we’ve got opportunities in front of us.”

2. Bryant’s Back

Two things are helping South Carolina’s quest to finish strong, First, is the return to form by Keyshawn Bryant. Against Kentucky Bryant had a double-double with 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. He followed that with 22 points, six rebounds, and two blocks against Georgia. For an idea of how much Bryant had struggled before those two games, the 40 points represent just under 25% of his scoring output for the entire season. The 20 rebounds are just under 30% of his season total. He finally looked like the player that averaged 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds last season.

“I know I need to play better,” Bryant said after the Kentucky game. “I know I need to come out and be ready each and every game.”

3. Point guard progress

Second, aside from Bryant, is improved point guard play. It’s a group effort from Jermaine Couisnard, Jacobi Wright, and Devin Carter. Individually, none of the three is really a prototypical point guard, but combined they can play off each other to get the job done.

Martin has always liked playing with two primary ball-handlers, and that’s why he gets so upset over poor point guard play. But the growing pains were necessary. Having to start at point guard, even though he struggled at times, made Carter better when he’s off the ball. Running the whole show made Wright a better backup. Couisnard has been able to pick his spots knowing he has Carter and Wright for help.

“Playing Devin at the point predominantly for the last month or so has made him understand the game a certain way, has made him understand the importance of structure. Now Jermaine is playing well again, confident and at peace with himself,” Martin said. “It’s the closest thing we’ve had all year where we can play two guys at a time with a point guard skillset and mindset.” 

4. House of horrors

One stat jumped out in the game notes: South Carolina is 2-15 all time at Ole Miss. It doesn’t seem possible. South Carolina has had plenty of good teams, and Ole Miss plenty of bad teams, so there has to be more than just two wins, right? Nope.

It’s a streak that spans two different arenas (Tad Smith Coliseum and The Pavilion), with one win in each building. Dave Odom, Devan Downey, and Dominique Archie upset #24 Ole Miss in 2008 for the first win. In 2016 Martin’s very good Gamecocks had to come back from an 11-point deficit to win in overtime.

“Even that game we didn’t play real well, we just finished the game on a crazy run,” Martin said.

5. Scouting the Rebels

Despite the history, Ole Miss is a very winnable game. The Rebels will try to slow the pace to keep the game close. Freshman point guard Daeshun Ruffin was lost for the season, leaving Jarkel Joiner and Matthew Murrell to carry the scoring load.

Joiner is averaging a team-high 14.5 points, and scored 18 points against South Carolina last season in the SEC tournament. Murrell scored eight points in that game, at the time his second-best scoring game. This season he is averaging 10.8 points. More importantly, he is hitting 38.9% from three, and “shoots the cover of the ball,” according to Martin.

“The challenge is to keep those guys in check so they’re not running wild,” Martin said. “We have to rebound the basketball. In games that we rebound, we give ourselves a chance.”

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The Ws

• Who: South Carolina (14-10, 5-7) at Ole Miss (12-13, 3-9)
• When: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 15
• Where: The Pavilion at Ole Miss, Oxford, MS
• Watch: ESPNU