After taking its annual break for exams, the Wahoos return to action tomorrow night as No. 5 UVa travels to South Carolina for a matchup against the Gamecocks (7 p.m., SEC Network).
The Cavaliers are coming off a 10-day break following their home win over VCU and are 9-0 heading into tomorrow night's game in Columbia, the first game UVa has played there since 1971.
The Gamecocks, meanwhile, haven't had the type of season that head coach Frank Martin would have hoped. At 4-5, South Carolina has struggled early on and this will be a huge matchup for the program.
It'll be the first game UVa has played without freshman guard Kihei Clark, who had successful surgery last Monday to repair his broken left wrist, an injury he suffered against Morgan State and played through in the win over the Rams.
South Carolina Gamecocks (4-5)
Head coach: Frank Martin, 12th season (234-149 overall, 117-95 in seven seasons at USC)
Series: UVa leads the all-time series 25-24.
Last Meeting: The Gamecocks beat the Cavaliers 74-67 in the NIT in March 2002.
Three Things We Know
1. The Gamecocks have had a disappointing start to the season.
South Carolina has yet to capitalize on any momentum that should have been gained by a surprise run to the Final Four in 2017. Last year, the Gamecocks missed the postseason after finishing with a 17-16 record and so far this season they are under .500 heading with no real optimism of a true turnaround. Granted, expectations for the South Carolina weren’t all that high coming into the season. The Gamecocks were picked 11th in the SEC preseason poll, ahead of just Texas A&M, Georgia, and Ole Miss. Even still, losses to Stony Brook, Wofford (by 20 points), and Wyoming, and no impressive wins to speak of, has to be disappointing for Martin and his players. South Carolina has been decent on defense, ranked 61st nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, but has had mixed results on the other end of the floor. The Gamecocks have struggled to shoot the ball both from outside and inside the arc, which has negated a lot of the hard-nosed defense they have played. Things don’t get any easier for Martin and the Gamecocks, with their next four games against Division I opponents coming against teams ranked in the Top 50 in the KenPom rankings.
2. South Carolina’s backcourt is led by A.J. Lawson.
One of the bright spots for the Gamecocks this season has been the play of freshman guard. The 6-foot-6 Toronto native leads the team in scoring with 14.3 points per contest, and has scored in double figures in seven of South Carolina’s nine games. Lawson bounced back from a disappointing zero-point effort against Wofford with his best game of the season, scoring 25 in a close win over Coastal Carolina. He also leads the team in minutes, assists, and steals per game but also in turnovers per game too. Lawson is joined in the backcourt by guards T.J. Moss and Hassani Gravett. Moss, a fellow rookie, is scoring just 6.3 points per game but has played quite a bit alongside Lawson in the backcourt. Gravett, a senior, is third on the team in scoring and is the team’s best outside shooter, making 17 of his 36 attempt from 3-point territory.
3. The Gamecocks have a big frontcourt for the Hoos to contend with.
South Carolina has one of the bigger frontcourts that UVa will have faced this season, led by power forward Chris Silva. A senior, Silva played a big role in the run to the Final Four two seasons ago, scoring in double figures in all five NCAA Tournament games that year, including a pair of double-doubles against Duke and Gonzaga. He is second on the team this year in points per game, averaging 11.1 points per contest and has posted three double-doubles, including in the most recent game, recording 18 points and 12 boards in the loss at Michigan. Silva is joined in the frontcourt by Malik Kotsar and Felipe Haase. Kotsar is a 6-foot-11 junior from Estonia who averages 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game starting alongside SIlva. He should draw a matchup with Jack Salt in this one. Haase, a native of Chile, contributes in a reserve role, averaging 6.6 points and 3.3 boards per contest.
