South Carolina @ Northern Iowa preview

South Carolina coach Frank Martin was surprised to see his team's poor performance in the first round of the Cancun Challenge so the Gamecocks will settle for the third-place game against equally disappointed Northern Iowa on Wednesday. South Carolina lost 70-47 to Wichita State in Tuesday's first round - the fewest points its scored since a 65-41 loss to Florida on Feb. 10, 2018.

“It caught me off guard,” Martin told reporters. "I thought our practice was really good (Monday) morning. I thought we rallied, thought we were competitive and thought we were pretty sharp. Our shootaround (Tuesday) morning was OK. Then the game starts ..." The Gamecocks shot 32.1 percent from the field - 3-for-10 from 3-point range - and 47.1 from the free-throw line while getting outrebounded 43-34. After yielding 50 points per game en route to a 3-0 start, South Carolina permitted an average of 72.3 in losing two of their last three contests. The Panthers blew a 15-point lead and lost to West Virginia 60-55 on Tuesday after starting 6-0 for the first time since 2014-15, when they won the Cancun Challenge.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (4-2): Sophomore guard A.J. Lawson (team-high 15.2 points per game) averaged 22 points in his previous three games before scoring five on 2-for-6 shooting Tuesday. Junior guard Jair Bolden is the only other Gamecock averaging double-figure points at 10 after producing five on 2-for-10 shooting versus Wichita State. Senior forward Maik Kotsar averages 8.3 points and a club-most 6.2 rebounds after scoring a game-high 12 and grabbing seven boards Tuesday.

ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA (6-1): Junior guard Trae Berhow (team-high 13.3 points) scored a combined 56 points in his previous two games - victories over Tennessee-Martin 87-67 and Cornell College 88-66 - but had five Tuesday. Sophomore guard A.J. Green (12.1) was also held to five points by West Virginia on 2-for-15 shooting from the field. Senior guard Spencer Haldeman (11.0), who was 2-for-10 from the floor Tuesday, and junior forward Austin Phyfe (10.1) also averages in double figures.

TIP-INS

1. South Carolina was fifth nationally entering Tuesday in field goal percentage defense at 34.2 before Wichita State shot 41.1 percent.

2. The Panthers were 3-for-20 from 3-point range against West Virginia, lowering their season percentage to 31.5.

3. The Gamecocks committed 19 turnovers Tuesday after recording seven in a 74-69 victory over Gardner-Webb on Friday.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 60, Northern Iowa 59