South Carolina loses in blowout fashion on road at Missouri
South Carolina (11-17, 1-14 SEC) is back to where it was before, after a 101-71 loss to Missouri on Tuesday night. It’s another loss to an SEC program after defeating Texas on Feb. 22 heading into the last few games of the season.
The Gamecocks will have three games left to go in the regular season before heading into the SEC Tournament, all but likely as the No. 16 seed.
How it happened
South Carolina’s defense looked steady at first. As the game went on, turnovers and rebounds started to be a problem. The Gamecocks were turning the ball over with seven of them in the first half.
The rebounding was also an issue with only 13 by the break. Collin Murray-Boyles lead the team with six of those rebounds. They also struggled by allowing a lot of open opportunities underneath the basket.
South Carolina didn’t have a bad first half shooting wise at a 48.3 percent clip. Just like he had against Texas, Murray-Boyles had a big first half and went for 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting. The offense tried to move the ball as much as it could, but couldn’t find an open lane to drive the ball to the hoop.
Going into halftime, the Gamecocks found themselves in a big hole, trailing 52-37 to Missouri.
The rest of the game went a lot like the first half as the Tigers continued to pounce on every mistake that the Gamecocks made. Missouri shot an impressive 63.5 percent from the floor on the night. Five players scored in the double digits, with Caleb Grill leading the way with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s struggles only mounted as the game wore on. The Gamecocks had a rough night from three-point range and went just 2-for-23 (8.7 percent). They missed all 11 of their shots from deep after halftime.
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South Carolina only led for 37 seconds as Missouri cruised to a 30-point victory.
Two observations
Collin Murray-Boyles needs help—The sophomore forward finished the game with 27 points, which lead the team. He was the most consistent with his shooting. He also held the highest number of rebounds with seven. There needs to be more help under the basket. South Carolina did a solid job of moving the ball. However, CMB cannot be the only one relied on for points and rebounds.
Turnovers make or break the game—South Carolina finished the game with 15 turnovers. The turnovers were mistakes that could have been easily prevented. More help down below would have fixed a majority of the turnovers as well as spacing on offense. Missouri put the pressure on and did not step down the whole game. Points could have been prevented for Missouri if the turnovers never happened.
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Key stat
2-for-23—It’s hard to win in basketball when the shots aren’t going in. In South Carolina’s case, the offense was almost completely ineffective from behind the arc. The Gamecocks went 2-for-23 (8.7 percent) from three-point range.
Turning point
Turnovers were the consistent problem affecting the Gamecocks. Missouri used the turnovers as an advantage the whole game maintaining 30-plus point lead at the end of the game.
Up next
South Carolina will face Arkansas at home Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at 1:00 p.m. on SEC Network.
