What to watch for: South Carolina faces equally struggling LSU squad

South Carolina will try to get back on track when it faces LSU Saturday afternoon.

The Gamecocks are coming off an 11-point home loss to Vanderbilt earlier in the week. It’s been a struggle to win in the SEC, but they’ll have a chance to pick up a win against a Tigers team that hasn’t won since December.

This is the first meeting of the season between both teams. Here’s what to watch for when the Gamecocks head to Baton Rouge.

Can the Gamecocks regain their stroke?

During South Carolina’s run of playing better basketball, it has shot much better. That wasn’t the case against the Commodores as it went 36 percent from the field and 26 percent from three-point range.

Right now, the Gamecocks are third-worst in the conference with a 46.1 effective field goal percentage. However, they’re in the middle of the pack when it comes to the three ball. They need to find their stroke and hit shots.

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What killed their momentum from previous games was an 18-point output in the first half on Tuesday. That’s not going to cut it, especially when trailing by 20 going into halftime.

When South Carolina has shot well, it typically stays in the fight for most of the game. It needs its shooters such as Jacobi Wright, Meechie Johnson and Hayden Brown to have better outings.

LSU’s defense isn’t particularly good, allowing SEC opponents to shoot 53.7 percent from the field. The Gamecocks have to take advantage of this weakness by scoring early to have a chance.

Frontcourt needs to bounce back in a big way

One of the biggest reasons for South Carolina’s downfall earlier in the week came via rebounds. Vanderbilt out-rebounded the Gamecocks 48-34 and scored 22 second-chance points on 19 offensive boards.

Josh Gray has been a standout, hauling in 12 of South Carolina’ 24 rebounds. Brown has also been giving his best effort crashing to the boards. Other than that, there’s been little to no production from other rebounders. No other player had more than three rebounds in Tuesday’s loss.

It also hasn’t helped receiving little to nothing from Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk. The junior forward hasn’t lived up to expectations since transferring to South Carolina, continuously watching his minutes dwindle down.

The Gamecocks have to get more production from players besides Gray and Brown. Freshman forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford saw some minutes and had seven points on 3-for-5 shooting with one rebound. He could get some more time on the floor to try to provide more of a spark to this ailing group.

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GG Jackson, South Carolina need to make amends

While at first it seemed like a good thing for Lamont Paris to bench Jackson, it’s become more of an issue. In front of the home crowd, Jackson removed himself from a huddle, untucked his jersey and didn’t look engaged in the game against Vandy.

There is still maturing Jackson needs to do, and help needs to come from the South Carolina staff. After all, he could still be in high school at just 18 years old. However, the Gamecocks need to figure out what to do with him moving forward.

It would be easy to say that South Carolina needs Jackson on the floor but it has actually been better without him. He’s only played a total of 10 minutes in second halves in the last two games. That’s been when the Gamecocks have picked it up, averaging 1.154 points per possession while allowing 0.968, a net of plus-0.186. 

At some point, both sides need to realize that they need each other. Jackson needs South Carolina to get to where he wants to go in the future, while the Gamecocks need their five-star, face-of-the-program type player back to his old self.

Until then, all eyes will be honed in on the unfolding drama.

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Is this the game where Chico Carter Jr. gets going?

Carter has shown flashes of brilliance while at other times struggling. But he could slowly be returning to form.

He scored 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting against Vanderbilt. The last time he scored 15 points, coming back in December, he broke out for 24 points the next game. And after having some low-scoring outcomes, he looks due for a big game.

It would be perfect timing for a South Carolina squad that needs someone to step up. Carter could fit the bill.

His 43.8 percent from three in SEC play is third-best among all players. If Jackson’s minutes are limited, does this mean more shots for someone like Carter?

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Scouting the opponent

Similarly to South Carolina, LSU has fallen toward the basement of the SEC. The Tigers are on a 13-game losing streak, with their last win coming against Arkansas on Dec. 28.

They’re last in offensive efficiency (91.2) and 11th in defensive efficiency (110.9). One area LSU hasn’t been too bad in is three-point shooting. It ranks fourth in the SEC shooting 32.9 percent from deep. From two-point range, the Tigers have struggled, shooting a dead-last 41.3 percent.

With leading three-point scorer Mwani Wilkinson out for the year, LSU is led by KJ Williams. The senior forward is averaging 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc.

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Sophomore guard Adam Miller is the team’s other double-digit scorer this season, averaging 11.7 points per game.

Another storyline to pay attention to will be senior forward Trae Hannibal, who played for the Gamecocks from 2019-20. Hannibal transferred to Murray State in 2021 before joining the Tigers this season. He’s averaging 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in nearly 20 minutes per game.

According to Barrtorvik, since Jan. 28 these two teams have the exact same net-efficiency.

Game details

Who: South Carolina (9-17, 2-11 SEC) vs. LSU (12-14, 1-12 SEC)

When: Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. 

Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Capacity: 13,215)

How to watch/listen: SEC Network/Gamecock Sports Network

Series history: South Carolina leads 19-18 (Last matchup: USC won 77-75)

KenPom projection: 70-62 LSU win (Gamecocks given 22 percent chance to win)

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