Kentucky is searching for answers on defense and looking to snap a losing skid.
Personally, these are the games I get the most nervous for.
As a fan, you don’t want the team you root for to lose a game to a winless team. In this case, the Kentucky Wildcats are battling the only winless team in SEC play when they take on South Carolina at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon.
That said, Kentucky’s second half on Tuesday night will hopefully carry over into Saturday afternoon. Despite losing 98-84 at Ole Miss on Tuesday night, Kentucky scored 53 points in the second half and trimmed a 27-point deficit to 11 points with just under eight minutes to go. It was enough to make me optimistically question if Kentucky was going to win. Give the Wildcats credit for battling in the second half after a miserable first half.
With reports of Lamont Butler returning to non-contact practice and a return to game action potentially just around the corner, the Wildcats are entering a stretch where they have the opportunity to get back into the thick of the SEC. Saturday’s game is a very winnable game, a game the Wildcats should win, and there’s reason to believe they can win their next three games against Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt before traveling to take on Alabama on February 22nd.
But the Wildcats can’t overlook South Carolina. The Gamecocks were 10-3 in non-conference play and have, for every statistical category, two good players. South Carolina has lost five of their nine games in SEC play by single-digit points.
With that, here are the Players to Watch on the Gamecocks in Saturday afternoon’s game.
Players to Watch
1. #30. Collin Murray-Boyles 6’8” 245 lbs. So. Forward Columbia, S.C.
15.5 pts, 8.8 rebs, 30 blk, 36 stl, 59.7 FG%, 5-20 3-PT FG, 66.1 FT%, 30.1 mpg
Murray-Boyles is the star on the Gamecocks. He burst on the scene last year as a Freshman, with his 59.7 field goal percentage the fourth-highest in program history. He also led the team in rebounding in helping the Gamecocks back to the NCAA Tournament after a seven-year absence.
Murray-Boyles has six 20-point games this season and six double-doubles. He also has 11 games with multiple blocks and 11 games with multiple steals. Seven times, Murray-Boyles has played 30+ minutes in SEC play, including 35+ minutes five times. In total this season, Murray-Boyles has scored in every game but three of them.
2. #6. Jamarii Thomas 5’11” 190 lbs. Sr. Guard Greensboro, N.C. Norfolk State Transfer
13.2 pts, 3.3 rebs, 60 ast.-43 TO, 39.7 FG%, 37.2 3-PT FG%, 70.3 FT%, 31.3 mpg
Coming off a season where he was named the MEAC Player of the Year, along with being a finalist for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year, Thomas is now in his first season with the Gamecocks. Thomas has scored in double figures in all but four games this season, and that includes 22 points against ECU back in early December. He has five games with three three-pointers, three games with four, and he had five three-pointers against ECU. Thomas has hit three three-pointers in each of South Carolina’s last two games, and he’s played 30+ minutes in 11 games this season, including each of the Gamecocks’ last three games.
3. #2. Zachary Davis 6’7” 200 lbs. Jr. Guard Orangeburg, S.C.
9.4 pts, 4.1 rebs, 40.8 FG%, 31.4 3-PT FG%, 72.3 FT%, 25.8 mpg
Davis has two 22-point games in SEC play, two of nine double-digit scoring games he had this season. He’s also proven his durability of late, playing 30+ minutes in five straight games.
4. #5. Nick Pringle 6’10” 220 lbs. Gr. Forward Seabrook, S.C. Alabama Transfer
9.2 pts, 6.4 rebs, 60.2 FG%, 65.7 FT%, 24.9 mpg
Pringle played for Alabama the last two seasons, including on their SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Championships in 2023. But it was on last year’s team that Pringle really shined, scoring 16 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in Alabama’s Elite Eight win over Clemson. Alabama advanced to the Final Four for the first time in program history.
Pringle has two double-doubles and nine double-digit scoring games this season. He also has three games with double-digit rebounds and four games with 30+ minutes played.
5. #1. Jacobi Wright 6’2” 185 lbs. Sr. Guard Fort Mill, S.C.
8 pts/gm., 2.7 rebs, 38% FG, 31.4 3-PT FG%, 76.7 FT%, 28.5 mpg
Wright is a homegrown player, both in the Gamecocks program and the state of South Carolina. He’s a former No. 4 overall prospect in the Palmetto State, and he stayed with the Gamecocks when Lamont Paris took over as the head coach in 2022.
He has seven double-digit scoring games this season and has played 30+ minutes in six SEC games this season. Wright’s season-high in minutes is 41, which came in an overtime win against Clemson in mid-December, and he also played 38 minutes against Florida on January 22nd.
6. #15. Morris Ugusuk 6’4” 170 lbs. So. Guard Helsinki, Finland
6.9 pts, 1.5 rebs, 40.8 FG%, 43.4 3-PT FG%, 17-22 FT, 22.5 mpg
Ugusuk is seeing consistent, and steady, playing time in his second season with South Carolina. He has for games this season playing 30+ minutes and has played 20+ minutes in all but one SEC game this season. In addition, Ugusuk has five games this season scoring in double figures that includes a 20-point game at Vanderbilt.
Ugusuk is also a good three-point shooter, with four three-pointers in four different games and eight games total with at least three three-pointers.
Head Coach: Lamont Paris (3rd season)
The reigning SEC Coach of the Year, and a finalist for multiple National Coaches of the Year, Paris led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since the Gamecocks went to the Final Four in 2017. It was the culmination of an impressive turnaround for the Gamecocks in Paris’s second season, going from 4-14 to 13-5 in the SEC and from 11 to 26 wins overall.
Prior to being named the head coach of the Gamecocks, Paris spent five seasons leading Chattanooga. He led the Mocs to the 2022 SoCon Tournament Championship, with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win it, and he was also the 2022 SoCon Coach of the Year.
Paris has also been an assistant coach at Wisconsin and Akron, and he played collegiately at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Paris is a native of Findlay, Ohio.
Keys to the Game
1. Dominate the first four minutes: This is a game where the Wildcats cannot afford to let the Gamecocks hang around and think they have a chance to win. Don’t come out and just lead after the first four minutes. Come out and dominate the first four minutes and lead something like 18-4, making South Carolina think they have no chance of winning this game.
2. Rebounding: South Carolina averages 35.6 rebounds per game and allows 32.4 per game. Kentucky, though, averages 40.2 rebounds per game. This is a game the Wildcats should impose their will on the glass.
3. Force turnovers: The Wildcats only forced one turnover on Tuesday night at Ole Miss. One. South Carolina is an erratic team, with 298 assists to 288 turnovers through 22 games. This means Kentucky should be able to force a lot more turnovers and get out and run in transition.
Score Prediction: Wildcats 88 – Gamecocks 74
This is a get-right game for Kentucky. Losing four out of five isn’t good, but it’s better to go through a rough stretch in late January/early February than late February/early March. Hopefully, the momentum the Wildcats gained in the second half on Tuesday night carries over into Saturday afternoon, and the Wildcats get back to .500 in SEC play.