South Carolina @ Georgia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Georgia 46, South Carolina 66

South Carolina coach Frank Martin isn’t too concerned with NCAA tournament projections as his team heads into Wednesday’s road matchup with Georgia seeking to continue building its postseason resume. The Gamecocks used 19 points from redshirt freshman guard Jermaine Couisnard and 18 from sophomore guard AJ Lawson to beat Texas A&M 74-54 on Saturday, giving South Carolina six victories in its past eight SEC games after an 0-2 start in league play.

But three seasons removed from taking the program to its first Final Four appearance, Martin isn’t spending time thinking about March, telling reporters Monday: “There’s a day in March where the teams that belong will get in. Are we in a place we can get there? I think we are, but we got to win.” Georgia has lost three of its past four games and in all three losses could not hold double-digit leads in the second half after seeing a 12-point lead with 14:44 to play disappear in a 105-102 home overtime loss to Alabama on Saturday. Guard Anthony Edwards leads all freshmen nationally in scoring (19.7), finishing with 14 points with 12 rebounds Saturday despite battling flu-like symptoms. “I was worried knowing we had a couple of guys that didn’t have normal energy,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told the media postgame. “That’s not an excuse. We’ve got to guard the ball better.”

TIME: 6:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (14-9, 6-4 SEC): Couisnard earned his second SEC freshman of the week honor after averaging 23.5 points in two games last week, scoring a season-high 28 and hitting three 3-pointers in a loss at Ole Miss on Feb. 5. Lawson is averaging a team-high 13.7 points while 35.2 percent shooting from 3-point range. The Gamecocks recorded 13 steals Saturday, one off their season high, helping lead to 21 points off turnovers and 17 fast-break points.

ABOUT GEORGIA (12-11, 2-8): Edwards is averaging 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals across his past four games, shooting 52.5 percent on two-point attempts in that span. Freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler helped make up for Edwards’ low-scoring game Saturday, finishing with a career-best 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and eight assists. Wheeler is averaging 15 points and 4.8 assists across his past four games, shooting 51.2 percent from the field.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Bulldogs are averaging 82.7 points at home, nearly six points more than their overall season average of 76.8.

2. South Carolina senior F Maik Kotsar registered four steals Saturday and finished 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, extending his streak to 14 straight made.

3. The Gamecocks have won the past six meetings in the series, five of them decided by nine points or fewer.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 75, Georgia 67