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

With Christmas around the corner, South Carolina will look to go into the holiday break on a high note and further extend its winning streak.

The Gamecocks, winners of five straight games, will host Radford at Colonial Life Arena. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. on SEC Network Plus on Sunday.

Here are four things to watch for and an opponent scouting report on the Highlanders.

How will the team respond after a huge win?

South Carolina comes into this game off the heels of its best win of the year so far, a 91-88 win in overtime over No. 25 Clemson. It’s been a few days since that crazy night but the Gamecocks need to ensure there is no hangover effect with a mid-major foe coming into town.

The good news for them is that they don’t typically let things linger. Whenever they’ve lost a game in non-conference play, they’ve picked up a win in the following game. Of course, a big win is much different from a tough loss, but they’ve been good about responding the right way this season.

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Collin Murray-Boyles has been South Carolina’s most consistent player this year, seemingly always producing game in, game out. But Tuesday’s win over the Tigers felt like one of the first times all year where multiple guys were able to come through with big performances.

Most notably, Myles Stute played his best game of the year with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with five three-pointers. Nick Pringle, who’s continued to get better with each game he plays in this new system, had 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field.

It would be nice to see others find ways to contribute like Stute and Pringle did. Look for someone like Zachary Davis to bounce back after having more fouls than points on Tuesday. Could this be one of those games where a younger player like Cam Scott finds his rhythm? That would be nice.

Play smarter

In these type of games, the Gamecocks should be fine and play comfortably enough to where they should win without much issue. But in these bigger games, they’ve been prone to making some mistakes, and Tuesday was no exception to that.

With Clemson down by three in the final seconds of regulation, South Carolina didn’t foul Chase Hunter, who drove down the floor and hit a game-tying three to send the game to overtime. Even after the game, Lamont Paris said the plan was to foul in that situation. It’s things like that that can become a real issue if they continue into conference play.

Radford has played a common opponent this season

Back on Nov. 21, Radford took on Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum and didn’t stand much of a chance. The Highlanders suffered a 79-51 loss to the Tigers in what was their sixth game of the season.

Clemson shot very well in that game but the defense manhandled Radford’s offense and didn’t let up. The Highlanders shot an abysmal 30.9 percent from the field and 20 percent from behind the arc. Zion Walker, who came off the bench that day, led the team with 10 points.

Does this really mean all too much? Not really. But it’s interesting to see Radford had already played Clemson, who just lost to South Carolina the other day.

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Scouting the opponent

Radford is currently 10-4 on the year and coming off a 122-63 win over Virginia Lynchburg on Friday. The Highlanders have gone on a pair of winning streaks of four or more games twice. But they’ve also lost to Pittsburgh, Clemson, Utah by sizable margins. They lost to Colorado State as well but that loss only came by 10 points.

Everything for this team starts with senior guard Jarvis Moss who leads the way with 15.7 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting. Their next highest scorer? Brandon Maclin with 9.5 points per game.

6-foot-8 forward Josiah Harris is averaging 9.1 points per game with 7.3 rebounds. He’s had two games with a double-double, including a 16-16 performance against North Carolina Central on Dec. 5.

A lot of what Radford does goes through Moss. But he’s had some games where he’s been kept in check. So if South Carolina’s defense can do its part, it should be possible to limit his success.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (8-3) vs. Radford (10-4)

When: Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

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

ESPN gives South Carolina a 92 percent chance to win

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