Mississippi State @ South Carolina preview
Colonial Life Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2020 ) Mississippi State 71, South Carolina 83
Protecting the basketball could be the most important detail when visiting Mississippi State plays Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina at Columbia, S.C., on Saturday.
South Carolina (5-6, 3-4 SEC) is coming off a 72-66 road victory against No. 22 Florida on Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks committed 13 turnovers that resulted in 17 Florida points. That effort was an improvement from its previous game, when 16 turnovers led to 26 points in a loss at Vanderbilt.
Mississippi State (10-9, 4-6) lost 61-45 at Arkansas on Tuesday, when they committed 26 turnovers that led to 25 points. That turnover total was the most for a single game in six years under coach Ben Howland.
"We are where we are and we have to dig ourselves out of this hole," said Howland, whose team has lost four straight conference games. "Our league is so difficult. There's no easy game."
Swingman D.J. Stewart Jr. and point guard Iverson Molinar lead the Bulldogs attack. Stewart averages 17.1 points and 2.5 assists. Molinar contributes 16.9 points and 2.9 assists.
Tolu Smith, a 6-foot-10 forward, is a presence in the paint with 12.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. Against Arkansas, guard Deivon Smith started for just the fourth time in 19 games and did not score in 18 minutes. Smith is scoring 4.3 points per game with 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
South Carolina is just 2-4 since emerging from a stretch where of seven of nine games were either canceled or postponed for COVID-19-related reasons.
However, the Gamecocks have won two of their last three.
"We can't get wrapped up with yesterday, we can't be concerned with tomorrow, we got to be excited about today," coach Frank Martin said on his weekly radio show. "Consistency has been the challenge."
AJ Lawson (17.6 points) scored 22 in the victory against Florida. It was the swingman's sixth 20-point outing overall this season and fifth in conference play.
The Bulldogs also depend greatly on two 6-6 forwards, Keyshawn Bryant (14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Justin Minaya (8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds).
"Bryant is maybe the most athletic guy in the SEC," Howland said Friday. "He's an absolute freak athlete."
Guard Jermaine Couisnard (11.8 points, 3.7 assists) is South Carolina's third-leading scorer.
Saturday's game begins a run of three consecutive SEC home games for the Gamecocks.
--Field Level Media