Mississippi Rebels vs. South Carolina Gamecocks Preview and Predictions 03-07-2018
6th March 2018 by Gracenote
At this time a year ago, South Carolina lost its first game in the SEC Tournament before an unlikely Final Four run. The Gamecocks will have to pull off an even more surprising winning streak to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and it begins against Ole Miss on Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament in St. Louis.
South Carolina enters as the No. 11 seed, having won three of its last five following a six-game skid. The 14th-seeded Rebels lost their final three games of the regular season and 10 of the last 11, and they're 1-3 in four games since Tony Madlock took over as acting head coach following longtime coach Andy Kennedy's resignation. Ole Miss has won two straight against the Gamecocks, including a 74-69 home victory on Dec. 31. The winner will face No. 6 seed Arkansas in Thursday's second round.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network
ABOUT OLE MISS (12-19): Guards account for more than 70 percent of the Rebels' scoring with Terence Davis (13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds) and Deandre Burnett (13.6 points) leading the way. Sophomore guard Breein Tyree (10.6 points) is averaging 16.2 points over the past five games, and forward Bruce Stevens (10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds) has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine contests. Forward Marcanvis Hymon is undersized at 6-7 but defends the post well and will have a tough assignment against All-SEC forward Chris Silva.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (16-15): Silva (14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds) is the Gamecocks' centerpiece - a talented offensive player who gets to the foul line with regularity and defends the paint well. Silva had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to Ole Miss earlier this season. Guard Frank Booker (12.5 points) is the team's only other double-digit scorer, but he has posted career-high point totals in back-to-back games, following up his 25-point effort against LSU with 27 against Auburn.
TIP-INS
1. Silva's 255 free-throw attempts are the fourth-most in the nation, and he is 25-of-31 from the line over the past five games.
2. Davis needs five points to become the 39th player in Ole Miss history to score 1,000 as a Rebel.
3. Ole Miss has won at least one game in the SEC Tournament in five of the past seven years, while South Carolina has not won a game in the tournament since 2015.
PREDICTION: South Carolina 75, Ole Miss 71
6th March 2018 by Gracenote
At this time a year ago, South Carolina lost its first game in the SEC Tournament before an unlikely Final Four run. The Gamecocks will have to pull off an even more surprising winning streak to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and it begins against Ole Miss on Wednesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament in St. Louis.
South Carolina enters as the No. 11 seed, having won three of its last five following a six-game skid. The 14th-seeded Rebels lost their final three games of the regular season and 10 of the last 11, and they're 1-3 in four games since Tony Madlock took over as acting head coach following longtime coach Andy Kennedy's resignation. Ole Miss has won two straight against the Gamecocks, including a 74-69 home victory on Dec. 31. The winner will face No. 6 seed Arkansas in Thursday's second round.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network
ABOUT OLE MISS (12-19): Guards account for more than 70 percent of the Rebels' scoring with Terence Davis (13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds) and Deandre Burnett (13.6 points) leading the way. Sophomore guard Breein Tyree (10.6 points) is averaging 16.2 points over the past five games, and forward Bruce Stevens (10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds) has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine contests. Forward Marcanvis Hymon is undersized at 6-7 but defends the post well and will have a tough assignment against All-SEC forward Chris Silva.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (16-15): Silva (14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds) is the Gamecocks' centerpiece - a talented offensive player who gets to the foul line with regularity and defends the paint well. Silva had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to Ole Miss earlier this season. Guard Frank Booker (12.5 points) is the team's only other double-digit scorer, but he has posted career-high point totals in back-to-back games, following up his 25-point effort against LSU with 27 against Auburn.
TIP-INS
1. Silva's 255 free-throw attempts are the fourth-most in the nation, and he is 25-of-31 from the line over the past five games.
2. Davis needs five points to become the 39th player in Ole Miss history to score 1,000 as a Rebel.
3. Ole Miss has won at least one game in the SEC Tournament in five of the past seven years, while South Carolina has not won a game in the tournament since 2015.
PREDICTION: South Carolina 75, Ole Miss 71























Comment