South Carolina vs. Mercer: Four things to watch and an opponent scouting report

After a 16-point loss to Indiana, South Carolina has had the last few days off and returns to game action on Thursday.

The Gamecocks will take on the Mercer Bears at Colonial Life Arena. Tip-off set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+/SEC Network Plus.

Here are four things to watch for as well as a scouting report on Mercer.

Which team will show up after a few days off?

Though it’s only been four games, there have been some inconsistencies with the way in which the Gamecocks have started games. There hasn’t been much in between so far. It’s either been slow and sluggish starts or jump out to an early lead and never trail again.

Obviously in a game like the one being played on Thursday, the latter option would be most ideal. South Carolina shouldn’t have much trouble with Mercer, but we probably said the same thing about North Florida and look at how that turned out.

One of the main issues in that Indiana loss was how the Gamecocks jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and then didn’t score again for more than four minutes. And by that point, the Hoosiers were in the midst of their 14-0 run to already go up by double figures. It seems the main causes behind these early struggles have been missed shots and turnovers, two things that will go a long way in shifting the tide.

There’s only been one game (Towson) where it’s felt like they had no problems starting fast and never relinquishing their lead. Get into that same rhythm and it should be a similar outcome with a blowout win.

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What is the offensive identity of this team?

Based on the way the team has played, South Carolina has found a lot more success on two-point shots. 51.3 percent of its points have come from two-point range while 26.3 percent are from behind the arc. This is usually the case for most teams, according to KenPom’s D-I averages.

However, the way in which the Gamecocks have gotten their points has been a mixed bag. Against Indiana, they shot 38.1 percent from the field and went 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from three-point range. Keep in mind, half of their made threes came from one player. They were also 9-for-20 on layups. And as has been the case this season, they weren’t great on their free throws, shooting 65.2 percent.

So based on these numbers, and yes it’s just one game, but it’s kind of been like this since the season opener. If you had to pinpoint what the offensive identity of this team is, I’m not sure that you could do so right now. And again, that goes back to some of their inconsistencies. This answer should be a lot clearer soon. But there’s a lot to clean up to get things rolling from an offensive standpoint.

Stay out of foul trouble

Not to keep going back to the Indiana game, but it’s hard not to notice how little impact Collin Murray-Boyles made. The star forward was coming off a season-high 27-point outing a few days earlier then went into Assembly Hall and scored two points. Reason being? He fouled out in 19 minutes of action.

If other teams were watching that game, they will probably pick up on the fact that taking Murray-Boyles out of the game makes a big difference. He’s easily the most talented player on South Carolina’s roster. So if he’s not out there, who can the Gamecocks count on in the front court besides Nick Pringle? Jordan Butler and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk? It’s probably more ideal to have Murray-Boyles on the floor.

So he will need to try and avoid picking up five fouls on Thursday. But he wasn’t the only one who got in hot waters over the weekend, as Jamarii Thomas and Pringle were each called for four fouls. That’s three starters right there. South Carolina needs its best guys on the floor and doing big things and not have to worry about them fouling out.

How will Ugusuk follow up his career-best performance?

Of all the things on last Saturday’s bingo card, Morris Ugusuk leading the Gamecocks in scoring probably wasn’t at the top of the list. But that’s exactly what happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ugusuk went off for 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting and drilled four threes in the loss to Indiana.

The sophomore guard played a career-high 28 minutes and seems to have earned more playing time as of late. It’ll be interesting to see if Lamont Paris throws him into the starting lineup after his solid outing but it’s just a one-game sample size. Before that game, he had only scored nine total points in the first three games of the year.

It would be great if he hit his stride and went on a nice run from here. It would be exactly what South Carolina needs with some tougher games coming up.

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Scouting the opponent

This should be one of those gimme wins for South Carolina as a heavy favorite going into Thursday’s matchup. But if the Gamecocks start slow, they could be in for a tougher game. And the last thing they need is another rough loss in the fifth game of the season.

Mercer is 2-2 on the year with the Bears’ two wins coming in dominant fashion. They’ve won their games by margins of 71 and 58, respectively. But don’t let that fool you; those wins came against Virginia Lynchburg and Trinity Baptist. If you’ve never heard of those schools, it’s because they both compete in the NCCAA — the National Christian College Athletic Association.

And in Mercer’s two losses, it lost to DePaul by 31 and South Alabama by nine. Needless to say, as long as the Gamecocks play their brand of basketball, they shouldn’t have much trouble taking care of business.

The Bears are led by senior guard Tyler Johnson, who is averaging a team-best 16.5 points per game on a ridiculous 57.5 percent shooting. He put up good numbers in the team’s two wins but his best outing came against South Alabama when he scored 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 6-of-11 from three.

When it comes to what South Carolina’s defense should expect, it’s going to be similar to what it saw when North Florida rolled into town. Mercer will most likely take a lot of three-point shots in this game considering the Bears average more than 30 per game. As a team, they’re shooting 33.3 percent from the outside. The main shooter the Gamecocks will have to try and contain is Johnson, who is shooting 57.7 percent from three.

If there’s one thing the Gamecocks cannot afford to allow in this game are fast break opportunities. The Bears average more fast break points (28.5 PPG) than any other team in college basketball.

This matchup will be an unbracketed game part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, which takes place next week at Suncoast Credit Union Arena Nov. 25 and 27.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (2-2) vs. Mercer (2-2)

When: Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

How to watch/listen: ESPN Plus or SEC Network Plus/107.5 The Game

ESPN gives South Carolina an 92.2 percent chance to win

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