No. 22 Tennessee plays South Carolina after Gillespie's 26-point game

Tennessee Volunteers (20-9, 10-6 SEC) at South Carolina Gamecocks (12-17, 3-13 SEC)

Columbia, South Carolina; Tuesday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 22 Tennessee visits South Carolina after Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 26 points in Tennessee's 71-69 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Gamecocks are 11-7 on their home court. South Carolina is 0-2 in one-possession games.

The Volunteers are 10-6 against SEC opponents. Tennessee is the top team in the SEC giving up just 69.2 points per game while holding opponents to 40.9% shooting.

South Carolina's average of 7.8 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.1 fewer made shots on average than the 7.9 per game Tennessee allows. Tennessee averages 80.1 points per game, 3.5 more than the 76.6 South Carolina gives up.

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Meechie Johnson Jr. is averaging 17.2 points and 4.3 assists for the Gamecocks. Kobe Knox is averaging 12.5 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 50.6% over the last 10 games.

Gillespie averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Volunteers, scoring 18.4 points while shooting 34.9% from beyond the arc. Nate Ament is shooting 40.4% and averaging 19.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Gamecocks: 1-9, averaging 70.3 points, 25.6 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 6.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 39.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 85.4 points per game.

Volunteers: 7-3, averaging 76.0 points, 40.8 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.