SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: South Carolina at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt-South Carolina basketball game preview

South Carolina visits Vanderbilt on Saturday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
South Carolina	0.440	0.316	0.623	356	1120	435	232	128	389
South Carolina OPP	0.392	0.298	0.728	303	1062	343	182	108	467
Vanderbilt	0.430	0.339	0.690	263	964	344	209	99	389
Vanderbilt OPP	0.468	0.353	0.735	289	1084	402	168	116	412

Statistical Leaders

South Carolina Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	29	13.7	130	81	55
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	28	12.2	114	80	34
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	29	11.0	132	56	0
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	28	8.8	90	21	45
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	28	5.1	54	35	0
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	25	4.0	43	15	0
Trae Hannibal	South Carolina	24	3.6	33	19	2
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	28	2.5	26	17	0
TJ Moss	South Carolina	28	2.2	23	5	10

South Carolina Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Maik Kotsar	South Carolina	59	129	188	6.5
Justin Minaya	South Carolina	40	88	128	6.1
AJ Lawson	South Carolina	14	91	105	3.6
Alanzo Frink	South Carolina	49	54	103	3.7
Keyshawn Bryant	South Carolina	24	58	82	4.1
Jermaine Couisnard	South Carolina	21	57	78	2.8
Wildens Leveque	South Carolina	34	39	73	2.6
Jair Bolden	South Carolina	6	64	70	2.5
Jalyn McCreary	South Carolina	26	39	65	2.6
Trae Hannibal	South Carolina	11	40	51	2.1
TJ Moss	South Carolina	2	24	26	0.9
Micaiah Henry	South Carolina	2	6	8	1.0
Mike Green	South Carolina	1	2	3	0.4
Nathan Nelson	South Carolina	2	0	2	0.2

Vanderbilt Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	29	17.5	170	135	32
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	29	11.5	97	108	32
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	29	8.0	79	35	39
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	29	6.8	68	19	42
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	29	5.6	54	47	8
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	28	4.0	43	26	0
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	25	2.0	17	10	5

Vanderbilt Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Dylan Disu	Vanderbilt	25	132	157	5.4
Ejike Obinna	Vanderbilt	47	70	117	4.2
Maxwell Evans	Vanderbilt	20	80	100	3.4
Saben Lee	Vanderbilt	15	81	96	3.3
Jordan Wright	Vanderbilt	26	54	80	2.8
Scotty Pippen Jr.	Vanderbilt	14	63	77	2.7
Aaron Nesmith	Vanderbilt	11	57	68	4.9
Matthew Moyer	Vanderbilt	10	45	55	2.2
Clevon Brown	Vanderbilt	22	32	54	6.0
Braelee Albert	Vanderbilt	15	12	27	1.6
Oton Jankovic	Vanderbilt	5	12	17	0.9
Jon Jossell	Vanderbilt	0	5	5	0.6
Isaiah Rice	Vanderbilt	2	0	2	0.2

NCAA NET

South Carolina: 60

Vanderbilt: 148

South Carolina Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	A.J. Lawson	G	6′-6″	178	SO	Toronto, ON
1	T.J. Moss	G	6′-4″	195	FR	Memphis, TN
2	Trey Anderson	F	6′-6″	203	FR	San Diego, CA
4	Jalyn McCreary	F	6′-7″	225	FR	Marietta, GA
5	Jermaine Couisnard	G	6′-4″	211	FR	East Chicago, IN
10	Justin Minaya	F	6′-6″	215	SO	Harrington Park, NJ
12	Trae Hannibal	G	6′-2″	217	FR	Hartsville, SC
13	Micaiah Henry	F	6′-9″	235	SR	Decatur, GA
14	Nathan Nelson	F	6′-6″	189	SO	Murfreesboro, TN
15	Wildens Leveque	F	6′-11″	230	FR	Brockton, MA
20	Alanzo Frink	F	6′-7″	260	SO	Jersey City, NJ
21	Maik Kotsar	F	6′-11″	270	SR	Tallinn, Estonia
23	Mike Green	G	6′-1″	188	FR	Myrtle Beach, SC
24	Keyshawn Bryant	F	6′-5″	197	SO	Winter Haven, FL
25	Seventh Woods	G	6′-2″	189	SR	Columbia, SC
52	Jair Bolden	G	6′-3″	215	JR	Brooklyn, NY

Vanderbilt Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Saben Lee	G	6′-2″	183	JR	Phoenix, AZ
1	Dylan Disu	F	6′-9″	220	FR	Pflugerville, TX
2	Scotty Pippen Jr.	G	6′-1″	170	FR	Los Angeles, CA
3	Maxwell Evans	G	6′-2″	190	JR	Houston, TX
4	Jordan Wright	G	6′-5″	226	FR	Baton Rouge, LA
5	D.J. Harvey	G	6′-6″	235	SO	Bowie, MD
10	Drew Weikert	G	6′-0″	170	SO	Nashville, TN
13	Matthew Moyer	F	6′-8″	229	JR	Gahanna, OH
14	Isaiah Rice	G	5′-11″	195	JR	Indianapolis, IN
15	Clevon Brown	F	6′-8″	232	SR	San Antonio, TX
20	Trace Arbuckle	G	6′-2″	170	JR	Carmel, IN
21	Jon Jossell	G	5′-9″	160	SR	Arcadia, OK
24	Aaron Nesmith	F	6′-6″	213	SO	Charleston, SC
42	Quentin Millora-Brown	F	6′-10″	229	FR	Lorton, VA
50	Ejike Obinna	F	6′-10″	243	SO	Enugu, Nigeria
55	Oton Jankovic	F	6′-10″	212	FR	Napa, CA

Scouting Report

South Carolina (18-12, 10-7 SEC) downed Mississippi State 83-71 on Tuesday night in Columbia. Big man Maik Kotsar led the victors with 20 points. Tyson Carter paced the Bulldogs with 24 points. South Carolina forced 14 Mississippi State turnovers and out-shot the Bulldogs from the field 48% to 39%. They also made 10 more field goals than the Bulldogs (32-22).

The Gamecocks score an average of 73.4 points per game which is eighth best in the SEC. Defensively, USC allows opponents 69.1 points per outing (8th SEC). Despite being eighth in points allowed, the Gamecocks are very stingy at allowing made shots. They are second in the SEC in field goal defense (39.2%) and fourth in the league in 3-point shooting defense (29.8%). South Carolina is the worst free throw shooting team in the league (62%).

AJ Lawson leads the Gamecocks in scoring average (13.7 ppg). Jermaine Couisnard is not far behind putting up 12.2 points a contest. Six-foot-11 inch Maik Kotsar leads the Gamecocks in rebounding (6.5 rpg).

Vanderbilt (10-20, 2-15 SEC) surprised Alabama 87-79 on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa. Vandy’s Saben Lee led the Commodores with 38 points. Alabama’s Kira Lewis led the Crimson Tide with 30 points. The Commodores made an impressive 15 of 28 3-point shots to beat Alabama at its own game.

Vanderbilt averages 71.3 points per game (10th/SEC). The Commodores allow opponents 74.6 points per contest (12th/SEC). Vandy, like Alabama, relies heavily on the 3-point shot. The Commodores are third in the SEC in that statistical category (34%). Vandy is last in the SEC in both field goal defense (46.8%) and 3-point defense (35.3%).

Saben Lee leads the Commodores in scoring (17.5 ppg). Freshman guard Scottie Pippen Jr. is second in scoring (11.5 ppg). Another freshman, Dylan Disu, leads the Commodores rebounding (4.2 rpg).

This game will come down to whether or not Vanderbilt is hitting on its threes. If South Carolina can limit the Vandy threes to five or six, the Gamecocks likely win. If the Commodores get nine or 10 treys they’ll likely prevail. South Carolina is the overall favorite because they are bigger and more experienced.

South Carolina-Vanderbilt Prediction

South Carolina 74, Vanderbilt 70

Saturday‘s game tips off at 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT). TV: SEC Network.