No. 19 South Carolina eyes payback vs. Alabama (Feb 07, 2017)
South Carolina leads the SEC and has the appearance of being a no-doubt NCAA Tournament team.
Just don't let Gamecocks coach Frank Martin hear you say that out loud.
The late-season collapse of last season remains too fresh to fully bury and the team that started it is next on the slate when No. 19 South Carolina hosts Alabama on Tuesday.
The Gamecocks started 15-0 last season and seemed intent on eliminating an NCAA Tournament drought that stretches back to 2004. But then they visited Alabama and the Crimson Tide whipped them in every facet of the game while recording a 73-50 win.
Alabama wasn't shy about celebrating that it had knocked South Carolina from the ranks of the unbeaten and Gamecocks senior guard Duane Notice hasn't forgotten.
"They beat us pretty bad at their home place in front of everybody -- they're dancing and stuff like that," Notice said at Monday's press conference. "That kind of stuck with us."
That beating was the first of nine losses for South Carolina and it began reputation and resume hits that eventually derailed the Gamecocks out of the NCAA Tournament. Two losses to Georgia over the final three games -- including in South Carolina's first game of the SEC tourney -- knocked the Gamecocks to the NIT.
The memory of that free fall isn't going to dissipate even though first-place South Carolina (19-4, 9-1) has won four straight contests and holds a one-game lead over Florida and Kentucky in the SEC race.
That's why Martin walks a fine line about residing in first place now and the unforeseen collapse of last season.
"They lived it last year," Martin said. "I'm not going to say we didn't handle things right, but we went through things last year. I think those guys who were here last year really, really learned a lot from the month of February last year.
"We can't sit around and look at conference standings and say, 'We're on top, let's hold on for dear life.' We start worrying about that, then we're not controlling what need to control, which is our approach every single day."
Alabama (13-9, 6-4) dropped consecutive games to Arkansas and Auburn and desperately needs a big win for its own NCAA Tournament resume.
The Crimson Tide are 12-0 when holding teams to 62 or fewer points and 1-9 when they allow more than 62. That has coach Avery Johnson professing that defense will be the key against the Gamecocks, who rank eighth in scoring defense (61.5) and lead the country in 3-point percentage defense (26.3).
"They are well coached and play hard on the defense end," Johnson said at Monday's press conference. "They are one of the best defensive teams in the country. They try to disrupt your offense quite a bit so it's going to be very important to take care of the ball and finds ways to generate some offense and get some easy baskets."
Freshman forward Braxton Key leads the Crimson Tide in scoring (12.1) and rebounding (6.0), while freshman guard Dazon Ingram (10.2) is the only other player in double digits.
South Carolina senior guard Sindarius Thornwell is having a standout campaign and leads the squad in scoring (19.1), rebounding (6.9) and steals (40). Sophomore guard PJ Dozier averages 14.1 points and Notice contributes 10.5 per game.
The Gamecocks have fared well at home against the Crimson Tide, winning seven of the past eight meetings.
