South Carolina at Vanderbilt: Three things to watch for, scouting the opponent and injury report

It’s been tough sledding for South Carolina to begin the new year, with three straight losses at the start of SEC play, but this week presents an opportunity to change all that.

The Gamecocks (10-6, 0-3 SEC) will start a two-game road trip at Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.

Here are three things to watch for, an opponent scouting report on the Commodores, plus the latest injury report.

[Join GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days]

How will the team respond after a tough loss?

South Carolina nearly pulled off a stunner last Saturday when it took No. 1 Auburn down to the wire. The Gamecocks, who had the lead entering the final two minutes, couldn’t hold on and lost 66-63 to the Tigers. But with how things went earlier in the week, this game was undoubtedly a sign of hope and progress.

After the game, head coach Lamont Paris made a fair point that growth can only happen with a proper reaction. If South Carolina can play anywhere close to the way it did against Auburn, it should have a good chance to come away with a win in Nashville. At the same time, is it possible that the team could fall back to the way they played in blowout losses to Mississippi State and Alabama?

Judging from the way the players handled the loss in the moment, we should be led to believe they can move forward and be fine. However, this conference is as tough as it gets and no game will come easy. It’s going to be up to them to play a solid game and earn a road win.

Finish strong

For as much credit as South Carolina has gotten for nearly upsetting the top team in the country, it easily could’ve ended up being a win by the final buzzer. As previously mentioned, it had the lead in the final minutes, but it also went more than five minutes without a point to close things out.

That’s not going to be enough to win at this level. Auburn made some nice adjustments at halftime to hold the Gamecocks to 23 points after the break. But to finish the game on a long scoring drought is rough. They missed some shots that you could argue they should’ve made. They also missed some key free throws near the end that proved to be the difference.

South Carolina went 9-for-16 at the free throw line on Saturday, which in a three-point loss makes it an even tougher pill to swallow. If the team plays like they did and finds a way to close out better, they should be in a position to win.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-LSU WBB]

Winning on the road will be a challenge

The SEC has been an absolute juggernaut with the potential of it being a double-digit bid league for the NCAA Tournament in March. A big part of that success comes down to how well teams have played at home with a combined 125-13 record.

Even with Vanderbilt not being known for having a tough home court advantage, the Commodores have been solid on their home floor with an 8-1 record. The last time South Carolina played in Nashville (not including the SEC Tournament trips), the Gamecocks suffered an 84-79 overtime loss to Vanderbilt in Paris’ first season, which also happened to be the first game of SEC play.

So it’s going to be tough to go on the road and come out with a win this season. The Gamecocks are 1-2 in true road games, with their only win coming at Boston College on Dec. 3. Other than that, they lost at Indiana and Mississippi State.

Scouting the opponent

After four seasons with Jerry Stackhouse at the helm, the ‘Dores moved in a new direction ahead of this season and hired Mark Byington as their next head coach. Byington previously coached at James Madison for four seasons, where he took the Dukes to the Round of 32 last year.

So far this year, Vanderbilt looks much improved after only winning nine games a season ago. The ‘Dores are 13-3 on the year but have lost their last two games coming into Wednesday. This should be a more even game with Vanderbilt having one Quad 1 win, which came at LSU on Jan. 4.

Jason Edwards, a transfer from North Texas, has been outstanding for the ‘Dores in his first season. The 6-foot-1 guard leads the team with 17.3 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting. He was recently dealing with a lower body injury after only playing 11 minutes against Mississippi State. But he was a full-go last time out, finishing with 20 points in 31 minutes in a loss at Missouri.

Slowing Edwards down could be viewed as a top priority for the Gamecocks since he’s their leading scorer by a clear margin. Vanderbilt has three players averaging just over 10 points a game this season, with AJ Hoggard and Devin McGlockton both with 10.9 points and Tyler Nickel with 10.2 points.

In particular, McGlockton has been a rebounding machine for the ‘Dores, averaging a team-high 8.3 boards. He’s also the team leader with 1.5 blocks per game.

This is a team that ranks Top 25 in multiple statistical categories: No. 6 in defensive steal percentage, No. 15 in non-steal turnover percentage, top 20 in both offensive and defensive turnover percentage, and No. 22 in two-point percentage.

Vanderbilt forces more than 15 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 23 in college basketball. This could be a cause for concern for South Carolina, who have had some trouble with turning the ball over. But the Gamecocks are coming off a game in which they only committed nine against Auburn. So if they can limit their mistakes, that would be big.

[Win tickets: South Carolina-Florida MBB]

Injury report

For the second straight game, South Carolina will be down two starters. Myles Stute (blood clot) and Jamarii Thomas (right knee sprain) are out. Stute will continue to be out indefinitely, while Thomas’ return time could last a couple more weeks.

Other than that, the Gamecocks don’t have anyone else listed on the SEC student-athlete availability report.

As for Vanderbilt, senior guard Alex Hemenway will miss Wednesday’s game, per the availability report. He’s dealt with his share of injuries in his career and hasn’t played this season after transferring from Clemson. Both Tyler Tanner and Grant Huffman are listed as questionable. Huffman has started in all 16 games this season.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (10-6, 0-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (13-3, 1-2 SEC)

When: Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

Where: Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)

How to watch/listen: SEC Network/107.5 The Game

ESPN gives South Carolina a 27.2 percent chance to win

Discuss South Carolina basketball on The Insiders Forum!