SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: South Carolina at Tennessee

Tennessee-South Carolina

South Carolina visits Tennessee 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

Stats | RPI | Players | Scouting Report | Prediction | Time/TV

Team Statistical Comparison

FG% 3PT% FT% ORB TRB AST STL BLK TO
South Carolina 0.433 0.285 0.615 165 510 190 108 61 189
South Carolina OPP 0.388 0.318 0.728 135 476 163 84 44 217
Tennessee 0.432 0.330 0.735 141 516 219 87 78 196
Tennessee OPP 0.390 0.345 0.668 128 457 143 99 41 188

Stats | RPI | Players | Scouting Report | Prediction | Time/TV

Statistical Leaders

South Carolina Scoring Leaders

PLAYER PPG FGM FTM 3PTM
AJ Lawson 15.2 69 49 26
Maik Kotsar 10.3 62 20 0
Jair Bolden 9.6 51 13 19
Jermaine Couisnard 8.5 40 20 11
Justin Minaya 6.9 33 23 8
Alanzo Frink 5.7 33 14 0
Trae Hannibal 3.1 15 4 0
Jalyn McCreary 2.8 13 5 0
TJ Moss 2.6 13 4 6
Wildens Leveque 2.4 11 9 0
PLAYER OR DR TR RPG
Maik Kotsar 31 55 86 6.1
Justin Minaya 27 50 77 5.5
Alanzo Frink 25 32 57 4.1
Jair Bolden 4 41 45 3.2
AJ Lawson 6 37 43 3.1
Jermaine Couisnard 11 29 40 3.1
Wildens Leveque 15 22 37 2.8
Jalyn McCreary 9 16 25 2.3
Trae Hannibal 4 13 17 1.5
TJ Moss 2 15 17 1.2
Keyshawn Bryant 4 9 13 2.2
Micaiah Henry 2 4 6 1.2
Nathan Nelson 2 0 2 0.4
Mike Green 0 1 1 0.3

Tennessee Scoring Leaders

PLAYER PPG FGM FTM 3PTM
Lamonte Turner 12.3 40 44 11
Jordan Bowden 12.2 59 27 26
Yves Pons 11.6 63 21 16
John Fulkerson 11.1 62 32 0
Josiah-Jordan James 7.9 38 20 15
Olivier Nkamhoua 4.5 28 6 1
Davonte Gaines 3.5 10 22 3
Jalen Johnson 3.0 14 5 9

Tennessee Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER OR DR TR RPG
Josiah-Jordan James 18 66 84 6.0
John Fulkerson 25 46 71 5.1
Yves Pons 18 50 68 4.9
Olivier Nkamhoua 24 35 59 4.2
Jordan Bowden 4 54 58 4.1
Lamonte Turner 7 32 39 3.5
Jalen Johnson 6 23 29 2.1
Davonte Gaines 6 19 25 1.9
Drew Pember 8 9 17 1.7
Santiago Vescovi 2 8 10 5.0
Zach Kent 0 2 2 1.0

Stats | RPI | Players | Scouting Report | Prediction | Time/TV

Thompson-Boling Arena
Thompson-Boling Arena

NCAA RPI

South Carolina: 128

Tennessee: 68

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

Tennessee Roster

No. Name Pos. HT WT Class City-State
0 Davonte Gaines G 6′-7″ 178 FR Buffalo, NY
1 Lamonte Turner G 6′-2″ 187 SR Florence, AL
3 Drew Pember F 6′-9″ 207 FR Knoxville, TN
4 Jacob Fleschman G 6′-3″ 176 JR Austin, TX
5 Josiah-Jordan James G 6′-6″ 208 FR Charleston, SC
10 John Fulkerson F 6′-9″ 212 JR Kingsport, TN
12 Victor Bailey Jr. G 6′-4″ 186 JR Austin, TX
13 Jalen Johnson G 6′-6″ 196 JR Durham, NC
21 Olivier Nkamhoua F 6′-8″ 224 FR Cumberland, MD
23 Jordan Bowden G 6′-5″ 193 SR Knoxville, TN
30 Brock Jancek F 6′-8″ 222 SO Knoxville, TN
33 Zach Kent F 6′-11″ 235 SO Magnolia, DE
34 Uros Plavsic F 7′-0″ 240 FR Chattanooga, TN
35 Yves Pons G 6′-6″ 215 JR Paris, FR

Stats | RPI | Players | Scouting Report | Prediction | Time/TV

Scouting Report


South Carolina (8-6, 0-1 SEC) fell to Florida 81-68 on Tuesday in Columbia, S.C. In that game the Gators built a 3-point lead by halftime. The Gators led by just six with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. However, Florida outscored Carolina 15-8 for the remainder of the game to seal the win. The difference in this game was the Gators superior shooting, rebounding and defense. The Gators made 46.7% of shot from field goal range compared to USC’s 38.3%, 37.5% of 3-point shots to just 26.7% for the Gamecocks. Florida out-rebounded South Carolina 42-30. Maik Kotsar, a 6-foot-11 forward, led the Gamecocks in scoring with 18 points. His 10 rebounds also led the Gamecocks, giving him a double-double.

Guard AJ Lawson is the Gamecock’s leading scorer (15.5 ppg) so far this season. The 6-foot-3 Lawson is South Carolina’s biggest threat from 3-point range with 26 made 3-point shots. Maik Kotsar, the team’s second leading scorer (10.3 ppg) and top rebounder (6.1 rpg), is a 6-foot-11, 270 pound monster from Estonia. USC is 11th in the SEC in scoring offense (69.4 ppg) and 8th in scoring defense (65.9 ppg). The Gamecocks are the worst free shooting team in SEC basketball hitting just 61.5% of those shots. The Gamecocks are 13th in the SEC in 3-point shooting (28.5%) and 11th in field goal shooting (43.3%). Defensively, the Gamecocks are fourth in the league in field goal defense, holding opponents to just 38.8% makes. The Gamecocks are also third in steals with 7.7 per game.

Tennessee (9-5, 1-1 SEC) evened its SEC record on Tuesday night with a solid 69-59 win over Misouri in Columbia, Mo. This game was tied at 15 halfway through the first half. However, the Vols would build a modest 32-28 lead by the half. With 13:45 remaining in the second half the Tigers tied the score at 40 on a jumber by Tray Jackson. The game would be tied four more times before the Vols pulled away. Trailing 64-56 with 2:26 remaining, the Tigers resorted to fouling. The Vols made 5 of 5 free throws in the final moment to seal the win. Guard Jordan Bowden led the Vols in scoring with 13. Tennessee had four players, including Bowden, make at least two 3-point shots.

Guard Lamonte Turner leads Tennessee in scoring (12.3 ppg) followed by fellow guard Jordan Bowden (12.2 ppg). Bowden is the team’s top 3-point shooting threat with 26 made 3-point shots. 6-foot-6 Josiah-Jordan James is the team’s top rebounder (6.0 rpg). Tennessee is 12th in the SEC in scoring offense (67.1 ppg) and second in the league in scoring defense (59.6 ppg). The Vols are fourth in the league in 3-point shooting accuracy (33%) and 12th in the conference in field goal shooting (43.2%). The Vols are second in the conference in both blocked shots (5.6 bpg) and assists (15.6 apg).

Tennessee should be the favorite playing in Knoxville. They have more offensive weapons and are playing better defensively than the Gamecocks.

South Carolina-Tennessee Prediction

Tennessee 70, South Carolina 65


Saturday‘s game tips off at 1:00 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network.

Stats | RPI | Players | Scouting Report | Prediction | Time/TV

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