South Carolina rallies past Florida at home in SEC battle of two top-25 teams
Defense first.
The South Carolina men’s basketball team trailed 37-31 heading into halftime, and thanks to a 14-0 Florida run in the first half, had some ground to cover. After being down for most of the game, the Gamecocks went with a zone look on defense and gained the lead with five minutes left to play.
Head coach Lamont Paris said he’ll turn to a 1-3-1 zone defense when needed. He called it at the right time Saturday, stymying the Gators as they were trying to cap off the late-season upset.
Colonial Life Arena exploded with just 46 seconds left, when Meechie Johnson nailed a 3-pointer that gave USC the lead for good. The No. 18 Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4 SEC) held on and took down No. 24 Florida, 82-76, and reached their 12th SEC win of the season.
“It’s fun to see the drama of that play out through sports and through college basketball,” Paris said. “And this was the epitome of that. I mean, it was every emotion. At one point or another that you’re feeling angst, excitement, jubilation. just fear possibly. Everything was in there.”
The young ones stepped up
Despite being down by eight points in the second half and mustering through four separate 7-0 Gators runs, South Carolina’s two underclassman starters, Zach Davis and Collin Murray-Boyles, were standout contributors.
Murray-Boyles picked up his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Though Davis wasn’t as visible on the box score, his defense led to two major turnovers in the final five minutes that gave USC a two-possession lead with three minutes to go.
Meechie Johnson led all scorers with 25 points, with Jacobi Wright picking up 15 points and Ta’Lon Cooper scoring 11.
“A lot of guys did some really good things,” Paris said. “Just too many guys to single out. I think it was the epitome of a team victory.”
Playing on the glass
Florida (20-9, 10-6 SEC) is one of the top rebounding teams in the country.. It averages 43.7 rebounds per game, including 15.3 offensive boards.
The Gators outrebounded the Gamecocks, 34-29, including a 9-7 offensive-rebound advantage. Florida picked up six second-chance points in the process as well.
South Carolina’s inability to get enough rebounds on either side of the ball lessened opportunities for the Gamecocks to find success on the glass. Murray-Boyles led USC in rebounds, but aside from the freshman there weren’t many South Carolina players with more than four boards.
“He’s really physical. He really believes in himself,” Johnson said of Murray-Boyles. “... he’s just a very smart freshman.”
The Gators had a fairly even distribution of rebounds across their roster, with Thomas Haugh leading the charge (six). It’s the second straight game USC has faced one of conference’s top rebounding squads, with Texas A&M sitting in second heading into Saturday.
Paris chose to switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense to slow down Florida’s offense, but it also worked in giving South Carolina more rebounds late in the game. The Gators went from a +8 differential to a +5 differential in the final five minutes of the contest.
Where do they go from here?
South Carolina’s game against the Gators was one of the early SEC games on Saturday. The game keeps USC inside the fight for a double bye in the conference tournament, but there weree six other SEC matchups later on Saturday that will give a better look at where the Gamecocks stand.
Other games that will inflict changes for the race to the top four SEC seeds are: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Alabama, No. 16 Kentucky vs. Arkansas; and Mississippi State vs. No. 11 Auburn.
Not only is USC still fighting for a free pass to the SEC tournament quarterfinals, but it’s still in the hunt for a share of the SEC regular season title. If Tennessee (22-6,12-3 SEC) falls to the Crimson Tide (20-8, 12-3 SEC), the Gamecocks will be one game back from a share of the title with two games to play.
“When you’re in a position like that,” Johnson said, “there isn’t much more you can ask for. So we just believe in each other.”
This USC-Florida matchup is considered a Quad-1 game for NCAA Tournament purposes, giving the Gamecocks a 5-3 record against Quad-1 opponents this season. Florida’s NET ranking prior to the matchup was No. 28, while USC was No. 48. The Gamecocks’ win will move them up one spot to No. 47, while Florida’s loss dropped them three spots to No. 34.
Other notable stats
South Carolina’s 12th conference win this season is the third time achieving that milestone since moving to the SEC.
Johnson’s 25 points mark the first time in SEC play where the guard has scored at least 22 points in back-to-back games, and the second time this season.
Murray-Boyles’ double-double is USC’s first true double-double in conference play this season.
The Gamecocks are 10-3 this season in games separated by six points or less.
Next games
Wednesday vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
March 9 at Mississippi State, 2:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
March 13-17 at SEC Tournament
