No. 21 South Carolina looks to rebound at Vanderbilt (Feb 18, 2017)
South Carolina and Vanderbilt both posted damaging losses within the last week, but each still enters Saturday night's game at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., with a lot on the line.
The Gamecocks' Southeastern Conference title hopes took a hit after Wednesday's 83-76 home loss to Arkansas. No. 21 South Carolina (20-6, 10-3 SEC) is in great shape for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2004, but it dropped a game behind Kentucky and Florida with five to play.
Vanderbilt (13-13, 6-7) entered last weekend hoping to keep its faint NCAA Tournament chances alive, thanks to a few nice wins against the country's sixth-toughest RPI schedule. But a 72-52 loss at then-last place Missouri last Saturday likely put that out of reach.
The Commodores responded on Thursday night with a come-from-behind home win over Texas A&M. South Carolina now must do the same, but coach Frank Martin knows he needs better effort than he saw in practice two days before the Arkansas game.
"Our kids have laid it on the line to help us be a good team, but it was so bad and lackluster and lacking in competitiveness and enthusiasm (on Monday) that I just left," Martin said.
Until recently, Martin had every reason to be thrilled with his team's defense. The Gamecocks are No. 2 nationally in Ken Pomeroy's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency but have given up 90, 77 and 83 points the last three games -- two of which were losses.
"We're not guarding. We're not pressuring the ball, we're not in line, we're not denying. We're not doing what we've been doing throughout the season," senior guard Sindarius Thornwell said.
Thornwell clarified that the guards have let the team down, but it's hard to fault his season. A leading SEC Player of the Year candidate, the senior averages 21.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals.
P.J. Dozier and Duane Notice, the team's other two starting guards, have also been particularly good on the defensive end. The trio is primarily why the Gamecocks rank No. 2 in 3-point defense (28.2 percent).
The Gamecocks, 1.5-point favorites, have their hands full with Vanderbilt. Five Commodores in the regular rotation shoot at least 35 percent from 3-point range, including 7-foot-1 center Luke Kornet.
On the other hand, defense has been an issue for Vandy, which ranks just 104th in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. But the Commodores won Thursday thanks to Kornet, who had a defensive presence against an excellent A&M front line that went beyond his five blocks.
To that, Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew was pleased with the team's defensive effort when it counted most on Thursday.
"The guys really dug in in the last three minutes. We got the defensive stops that we needed to win the game," Drew said.
Both teams present challenges for the other. South Carolina center Chris Silva, who has fouled out eight times, has a four-inch height disadvantage against Kornet.
Meanwhile, athletic guards like Thornwell and Dozier have particularly given Vanderbilt fits. As a result, the Commodores have primarily played a zone the last two months.
Vanderbilt is one game out of sixth place and hoping to avoid having to play on the first day of the SEC Tournament in March.
