SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Florida at South Carolina

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Florida visits South Carolina on Tuesday 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
Florida	0.440	0.315	0.713	146	503	147	84	49	157
Florida OPP	0.393	0.298	0.687	129	445	152	72	36	174
South Carolina	0.437	0.286	0.603	156	480	179	103	58	175
South Carolina OPP	0.381	0.314	0.726	123	434	150	77	41	206

Statistical Leaders

Florida Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Kerry Blackshear Jr.	14.9	53	76	12
Keyontae Johnson	13.0	65	27	12
Andrew Nembhard	10.6	48	27	15
Noah Locke	10.2	46	11	29
Scottie Lewis	8.7	34	30	6
Tre Mann	5.9	24	11	6
Ques Glover	5.5	30	6	5
Omar Payne	4.3	25	6	0

Florida Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Kerry Blackshear Jr.	38	79	117	9.0
Keyontae Johnson	25	64	89	6.8
Scottie Lewis	15	41	56	4.7
Omar Payne	24	28	52	4.0
Noah Locke	3	40	43	3.3
Andrew Nembhard	1	35	36	2.8
Tre Mann	2	20	22	2.0
Ques Glover	4	11	15	1.2

South Carolina Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
AJ Lawson	15.5	66	46	23
Maik Kotsar	9.7	55	16	0
Jair Bolden	9.4	47	10	18
Jermaine Couisnard	8.5	40	20	11
Justin Minaya	7.2	32	21	8
Alanzo Frink	6.2	33	14	0
Trae Hannibal	3.0	13	4	0
Jalyn McCreary	2.9	13	3	0
Wildens Leveque	2.6	11	9	0
TJ Moss	2.6	12	4	6

South Carolina Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Maik Kotsar	28	48	76	5.8
Justin Minaya	26	46	72	5.5
Alanzo Frink	25	31	56	4.3
Jair Bolden	3	40	43	3.3
Jermaine Couisnard	11	29	40	3.1
AJ Lawson	4	36	40	3.1
Wildens Leveque	15	22	37	3.1
Jalyn McCreary	9	13	22	2.2
Trae Hannibal	4	13	17	1.7
TJ Moss	2	15	17	1.3

NCAA RPI

Florida: 53

South Carolina: 118

Florida Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Ques Glover	G	5′-11″	176	FR	Knoxville, TN
1	Tre Mann	G	6′-4″	172	FR	Gainesville, FL
2	Andrew Nembhard	G	6′-5″	193	SO	Aurora, ON
3	Alex Klatsky	G	6′-3″	189	FR	Colts Neck, NJ
4	Anthony Duruji	F	6′-7″	213	JR	Germantown, MD
5	Omar Payne	F	6′-10″	223	FR	Kissimmee, FL
10	Noah Locke	G	6′-3″	207	SO	Baltimore, MD
11	Keyontae Johnson	F	6′-5″	231	SO	Norfolk, VA
12	Gorjok Gak	C	6′-11″	244	JR	Sydney, NSW
21	Dontay Bassett	F	6′-9″	236	JR	Oakland, CA
22	Tyree Appleby	G	6′-1″	163	JR	Jacksonville, AR
23	Scottie Lewis	G	6′-5″	185	FR	Hazlet, NJ
24	Kerry Blackshear Jr.	F	6′-10″	241	SR	Orlando, FL
33	Jason Jitoboh	C	6′-11″	300	FR	Chattanooga, TN

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

Scouting Report

On Saturday Florida (9-4, 1-0 SEC) opened its SEC slate with an wild 104-98 double overtime victory over scrappy Alabama. The Gators rallied from an 8-point deficit with less than 2 minutes remaining to notch the win. In that game guard Andrew Nembhard led the Gators with 25 points. However, it was 6-foot-10 Virginia Tech transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr.’s double-double which consisted of 24 points and 16 rebounds that likely proved to be the difference in this game. It was a big win for Florida but keep in mind they were facing the worst defense in the SEC. Guard Noah Locke is the Gator’s biggest 3-point shooting threat this season. He’s made 29 threes already to lead his team. Blackshear, as expected, is the team’s Mr. Windex. He’s averaging 9 boards a game, good for 4th in the SEC. One thing that makes big man Blackshear even more effective is his free throw shooting ability (84%). No fouling this guy. Nembhard has been a solid ball handler for the Gators so far. He’s third in the SEC in assists with 75.

South Carolina (8-5, 0-0 SEC), has seen very good and very bad in its non-conference slate. The Gamecocks have an impressive win at Virginia but have lost to the likes of Stetson and Boston University. Both those losses happened in Columbia. The Stetson game came after the long Christmas break, on December 30. The game on Tuesday night will be just South Carolina’s second game since the win at Virginia. Guard A.J. Lawson leads the Gamecocks in scoring (15.5 ppg). He’s the only Gamecock that averages in double figures. South Carolina is a pretty solid team defensively, allowing just 64 points per game. However, one glaring weakness for the Gamecocks is shooting. They are dead last in the SEC in free throw accuracy making just over 60%. They are also 11th in field goal percentage (43.7%) and 13th in three point shooting (28.6%).

Playing in Columbia, this is a game that could go either way. I like the Gamecocks playing at home though. They are well rested and well coached. If they could win at Virginia they should be able to handle Florida. Also consider the fact that Florida is coming off a very thrilling win over Alabama. They may be a little deflated for this one.

Florida-South Carolina Prediction

South Carolina 73, Florida 70