Feb. 8, 2011

The South Carolina men’s basketball team (13-8, 4-4 SEC) is set to host No. 17/19 Florida (18-5, 7-2 SEC) in SEC play on Wednesday at Colonial Life Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. for the contest, which will be televised on the SEC Network (check local listings) with Dave Neal and Mark Gottfried on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tipoff: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Series: Florida leads 36-22
Television: SEC Network (check local listings)
Talent: Dave Neal (pxp), Mark Gottfried (analyst);
Steve Melton (producer)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
(107.5 FM – Columbia/GamecocksOnline.com)
Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst)
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com
Multimedia: ESPN3.com
Tickets: Tickets are available via the Gamecock Ticket Office (1-800-4SC-FANS)

Game Notes vs. Florida | SEC Network Affiliates | Find The Gamecocks On TV

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 103rd season of basketball.
– South Carolina suffered a 78-60 loss at No. 23/24 Vanderbilt on Saturday in SEC East action. Four Gamecocks scored in double figures in the contest, led by sophomore guard Ramon Galloway with 16.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow is just five blocks away from surpassing Brandon Wallace (249) for first place in South Carolina history in career blocks, as Muldrow has 245 for his career entering Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.
– South Carolina ranks second in the nation (Feb. 7 NCAA stats) in blocked shots per game with 6.8 per outing. Muldrow ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per game (3.5).
– Since breaking into the starting lineup vs. Auburn, sophomore guard Ramon Galloway is averaging 15.0 points, and 4.3 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per outing. He scored team highs with 20 points vs. Auburn and 16 vs. Vanderbilt (Feb. 5).
– The Gamecocks are 10-0 this season when leading at the halftime break. Carolina held a 31-27 upperhand at halftime vs. LSU.
– South Carolina is 2-2 against SEC East teams this season, with wins over Vandy and Florida.
– In league play, the combination of Ellington, Muldrow and Galloway account for 40.0 points per game, 60.5% of South Carolina’s offensive production.
– In the first matchup between South Carolina and Florida on Jan. 15, Carolina out-rebounded Florida 39-36 in the contest.
– Freshman point guard Bruce Ellington led all scorers with 23 points in the contest vs. UF on Jan. 15. He scored South Carolina’s last six points to clinch the win for the Gamecocks. Ellington was 4-of-4 from the free throw line and 8-of-15 from the field in Gainesville.
– Carolina committed just eight turnovers vs. UF on Jan. 15, matching an SEC-season low.
– South Carolina hits 44.5% of its shots and scores 74.8 points per game in games it has won this season, while in losses, the Gamecocks hit just 36.7% and score just 63.0 points per outing.
– In home games, South Carolina has held its opponent to under 41% shooting in nine of 13 contests.
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow recorded just the second triple-double in school history in the SEC opener win over No. 22/24 Vanderbilt, scoring 16 points, collecting a team-high 14 rebounds and blocking a career high 10 shots. It marked just the 21st triple-double in SEC history and the 11th all-time involving blocked shots.
– South Carolina ranks third in the SEC in rebounds per game with 39.0 per contest.
– South Carolina has dished double-digit assists in 16 contests this season (through 21 games), compared to 18 times all of last season.

Star Watch – Muldrow Aims For Block Record
– Senior forward Sam Muldrow is just five blocks away from surpassing Brandon Wallace (249) for first place in Gamecock history in career blocks, as Muldrow has 245 for his career. He ranks second in the South Carolina record book with 2.4 blocks per game. Muldrow is the SEC’s active career leader in blocked shots.

Among Freshman In The SEC
– In overall games … Bruce Ellington ranks fourth in points per game (14.4), fifth in rebounding (3.5), third in assists (3.4) and third in steals (1.1) … Damontre Harris ranks second in field goal percentage (60.0%) and third in blocks per game (0.9).

Scouting Florida
– Since the Jan. 15 loss to South Carolina, Florida has won five of its last six games, including overtime wins over Georgia and Vandy, and most recently a 70-68 victory over Kentucky on Saturday.
– Junior guard Erving Walker paces the Gators with 14.2 points per game, while sophomore guard Kenny Boynton adds 13.0 per outing.
– In strictly SEC play, Walker (14.7) and Boynton (14.1) once again lead the squad in points per game, while senior forward Chandler Parsons adds 12.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the SEC.
– The Gators have already played three overtime games in SEC play, all against SEC East opponents. UF defeated Tennessee, Georgia (2OT) and Vandy in overtime already this season.

Florida Series Continues To Bring Thrillers
– The recent series between South Carolina and Florida added another thriller on Jan. 15 in Carolina’s 72-69 road win in Gainesville. Below is a quick recap of the five games between the two schools since Darrin Horn took over the Gamecock program.
– Jan. 21, 2009 – Then-senior Zam Frederick hit a lay-up with nano seconds on the clock to clinch a 70-69 win for the Gamecocks in Columbia.
– Feb. 3, 2009 – Just two weeks after Frederick’s heroics, Florida earned a 97-93 win in a shootout in Gainesville. Then-junior Devan Downey drilled three 3’s in the final 57 seconds of the game and added a layup for a total of 11 points in the final minute of play, but solid free throw shooting by the Gators down the stretch secured the UF win.
– Jan. 23, 2010 – Downey hit a lay-up to put the Gamecocks ahead 56-55 with just 5.1 seconds remaining on the clock, but UF’s Chandler Parsons hit a 3 at the buzzer for the UF win.
– Feb. 10, 2010 – South Carolina avenged its loss in Gainesville with a 77-71 victory in Columbia. Downey led three in double figures with 24 points, while senior Brandis Raley-Ross added a season-best 20 points in the win.
– Jan. 15, 2011 – Freshman point guard Bruce Ellington tallied a team-best 23 points, including Carolina’s final six points of the contest, to secure a 72-69 road win for the Gamecocks. Senior forward Sam Muldrow and freshman forward Damontre Harris each blocked three shots in the contest.

By The Numbers
– 12 – South Carolina’s 12 steals vs. Vanderbilt on Saturday were a season high for the squad. It was the most steals in a contest for the Gamecocks since earning 15 steals vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 16, 2010.
– 7 – Sophomore forward Lakeem Jackson dished a career high seven assists at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Gamecocks collected 11 in the contest.
– 7.8 – South Carolina’s 7.8 blocked shots per game leads all SEC teams in league play thus far in 2011.
– 39 – In SEC play, Sam Muldrow has 39 blocks, which is more than five other schools in the league (excluding South Carolina) – Auburn (23), Mississippi State (28), LSU (29), Vanderbilt (31), and Florida (37).
– 75.0% – Redshirt-junior forward Malik Cooke paces the Gamecocks with a 75% effort from the free throw line this season. Four times in SEC play Cooke has been perfect from the free throw line – vs. Vandy (Jan. 8, 2-2), Arkansas (Jan. 22, 6-6), at LSU (Feb. 2, 4-4) and at Vandy (Feb. 5, 4-4).