What to watch for: South Carolina plays at Georgetown

South Carolina is trying to move past a disappointing loss to George Washington, and the Gamecocks’ next chance comes Saturday.

They’ll play at Georgetown, the final game of a home-and-home that saw South Carolina win by 13 last year. Tip-off is scheduled for noon Saturday and here are a few things to watch.

Can South Carolina have a rim presence on either end?

Frontcourt play was always going to be a question mark going into the season and South Carolina has to find a way to have a presence at the rim. The Gamecocks are one of the worst teams in the country, shooting 42.6 percent from two, while opponents shoot 53.1 percent. 

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Georgetown loves to attack to paint–55.1 percent of points are from two–and are one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country. South Carolina will have to find a way to convert inside and open up things for shooters on the perimeter. 

Getting more from Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, GG Jackson and Josh Gray at the rim is imperative. 

Guard play, guard play and guard play

If South Carolina is going to be the team it wants to be, they’ll need to get a lot from their guards, both offensive and defensively. South Carolina needs Meechie Johnson, Chico Carter and Jacobi Wright to handle a lot of the scoring along with Jackson. 

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The Gamecocks also have to have those guys on defensively to prevent a really good two-headed monster at guard for Georgetown from getting to their spots. 

Getting good play on the perimeter is something to watch. 

Manufacturing some offense

At this point, South Carolina’s early-season offense is what it is. That means South Carolina is going to have to find ways to either get into the open court and create some easy buckets or get to the line. 

Right now South Carolina isn’t doing a lot of that consistently. The Gamecocks are averaging 15 free throws per game (62.9 percent from the line) and are 297th nationally in free throw rate. They’re forcing turnovers on just 17.2 percent of possessions.

Right now the Gamecocks aren’t a team able to consistently score in the half court and have to find ways to manufacture some offense. That starts with getting the ball to the rim, which has bene tough this season. 

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Being competitive 

South Carolina’s gone from being predicted to win 13 to 14 games before the season in the preseason to 10 now by KenPom. Georgetown isn’t the national title Georgetown of the past but a win here can be a good thing for Lamont Paris, beating a name opponent in year one after a rout Wednesday. 

Being competitive and, at worst, looking better Saturday is a good thing for the Gamecocks.

Scouting the opponent

Georgetown, despite one magical run to a Big East tournament title, has struggled to get off the ground under Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas this year have an overtime win over Coppin State and other victories over Green Bay, La Salle and UMBC. The best win was La Salle, No. 210 in KenPom. The losses are to Northwestern (74), Loyola Marymount (135), American (237) and Texas Tech (28). 

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The Hoyas are a good three-point shooting team, although only 27 percent of points come from there. They’re more offensive team than defensive. They’re above average in effective field goal percentage, offensive turnover rate and offensive rebound rate. They’re great at protecting the rim and blocking shots, top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive block rate.   

Where they struggle is getting the ball stolen from them–most turnovers come off steals–and allowing opponents to rebound the ball on the offensive end. 

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They have a two-headed attack at guard with sophomores Primo Spears and Brandon Murray. Spears is averaging 16.4 points and 4.8 assists per game while Murray is averaging 15.8 points and four assists. Both turn the ball over frequently too. Big Man Akok Akok is averaging 7.4 points, 2.4 blocks and 7.8 rebounds and will cause issues as well. 

Game details

Who: South Carolina (3-4) at Georgetown (4-4)

Where: Capital One Center (Capacity: 20,600)

When: Saturday, Dec. 3 at noon

How to watch: Fox Sports 1

How to listen: 107.5 FM

KenPom Projection: 71-67 Georgetown (South Carolina given a 36 percent chance to win)

(Photo by Charles Brock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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