Turnovers sink chances as South Carolina's skid hits six games

Shakeel Moore finished at the rim as the clock continued to wind down, the fourth straight Mississippi State make off the second of three consecutive South Carolina turnovers. 

The Gamecocks jogged back down the court offensively with Meechie Johnson shaking his head as he tried to get back in the game that was slowly slipping away.

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Mississippi State was up 15 at that point and would ultimately hold on for a 66-51 win at Colonial Life Arena to push South Carolina’s losing streak to six games. 

It’s just the fourth time since joining the SEC the Gamecocks have started 1-8 in SEC play and just the second time since the league went to 18 league games in 2014.

How it happened

The Gamecocks (8-14, 1-8 SEC) jumped out to an early lead, their first lead in a home SEC game this season, but Mississippi State quickly gained control of the first half. 

The Bulldogs used their size and some early foul trouble to Josh Gray, to balloon a six-point lead at the half. A Mississippi State team that came in ranked No. 331 nationally in effective field goal percentage shot almost 47 percent from the field. 

The Bulldogs ultimately shot 52.9 percent from the field after coming in shooting 37.6 percent in SEC play.

There were a total of six lead changes and six ties in the first half with no team leading by more than seven points. 

Things changed to start the second half. Mississippi State started the half on a 6-0 run, compounded by a few critical South Carolina turnovers and poor defensive rebounding. 

The Gamecocks turned it over 18 times to just eight assists, leading to 21 Mississippi State points.

“I’ll be honest with you, I think a lot of it was on us. That was not to take anything away from us at all. They do it with a lot of teams,” Lamont Paris said. “Some of it is growing in your game and attacking and playing off of two feet and playing the decision that was there…I aspire for us to make better decisions in those situations.” 

South Carolina chipped quickly after that thanks to a deep three from Meechie Johnson to cut the lead to just six.

The Gamecocks, though, struggled for consistency with four turnovers in the first six minutes. The problems snowballed with South Carolina missing seven of its first 10 shots out of the break leading to transition opportunities for the Bulldogs. 

“Really just stay together through the tough times. It’s definitely been right there,” Johnson said. “It’s tough to lose those types of games and lose on those types of runs. Just have to get back in the lab, honestly, and continue to work and stay together to try and improve.” 

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South Carolina did its best to try and chip away at the lead. It got down to single digits a few times, but was never able to make a run to get the lead any closer. 

South Carolina finished shooting 6-for-17 on layups in what was another double-digit loss. 

“You combine that with 12 points off offensive rebounds, a 7-for-14 performance from the free throw line and a myriad of situations where we were around the basket,” Paris said, “and we didn’t finish or had good open shots and didn’t make or take a couple of them. You can’t have all those things happen on the same day against a team that committed to defense.”

Two observations

South Carolina needs more from its non-Gray bigs–Josh Gray continues to play well as the team’s starting center (six points, 14 boards). But the Gamecocks need more when he’s not in the game. With Gray out, Mississippi State attacked the paint and dominated at the rim and on the glass, out-rebounding South Carolina by six.

“Josh, the past couple of games has been really productive for us grabbing rebounds,” said GG Jackson, who finished with 15 points and no boards. “For us tonight, I’ll take that load on me. I was trying to box out and get the ball coming my way. But it wasn’t coming my way. That’s no excuse.” 

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Chico Carter’s limited role–Chico Carter played a season-low 12 minutes Tuesday and just two in the second half. He finished with no stats outside of a foul despite being on the bench for the entire game. Postgame Paris said he was limited with tendonitis. South Carolina needs him back on the court offensively.

Key stat

18 and 21—Mississippi State finished with 21 points off of 18 Gamecock turnovers and it was a huge reason the Bulldogs let their lead grow late in the second half. The Gamecocks aren’t great at protecting the ball and need to be better about gifting their opponents’ easy open-court opportunities. 

Turning point

With about two minutes to go in the first half, Meechie Johnson drilled a deep three-pointer to make it just a two-point deficit with the half dwindling. The Gamecocks then gave up an easy two followed by a transition three off of a turnover.

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Up next

The Gamecocks are back at home Saturday facing Arkansas. The Razorbacks are talented but have struggled to find footing this year. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. 

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