The South Carolina Gamecocks play the Arkansas Razorbacks in a last-ditch effort to get higher seeding for SEC tourney
South Carolina (6-12) will play Arkansas (19-5) on Tuesday in what will be the final home game for the Gamecocks this season. It will be Senior night in Columbia, which means this will be the last time we see Seventh Woods and most likely AJ Lawson in Colonial Life Arena. This may have not been the best season for South Carolina, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lawson and Woods put everything on the court when they play the 12th ranked Razorbacks.
South Carolina is coming off of their first win after a six-game losing streak. The Gamecocks dominated Georgia on the road in a game where they finally looked like the team South Carolina fans wanted them to be. The key factor to that win was the resurgence of sophomore Jermaine Couisnard. When he was at his best, the Gamecocks put up 91 points and shot 53.6 percent. South Carolina also improved heavily on defense. They need to take the momentum from that win and put it towards a tough Arkansas team. The key to winning for the Gamecocks is to spread the points around to players not named AJ Lawson and play better on the boards.
Arkansas is currently second in the SEC behind Alabama and is one of the best offensive teams in the country. They’re also on a six-game win streak, including a dominating win over the Crimson Tide. Their 82.4 points per game is great, but their strength is on the boards. The Razorbacks average 40.5 rebounds per game, which means the Gamecocks will have to play big if they want to win this game. The player to watch for on Arkansas is freshman Moses Moody. In their last six games, Moody has put up 13+ points and 5+ rebounds in each game. South Carolina will have to find a way to defend the paint while preventing Moody from dominating the perimeter.
This is the first meeting between these two teams this season, and it will be one of South Carolina’s toughest games. The good news for South Carolina is they have nothing to lose. If they can beat the Razorbacks on Senior night, it will at least leave some optimism for next season. The only thing a win would do for South Carolina is improve their seeding in the SEC tournament. With no postseason plans for the Gamecocks, this game will be for the players leaving.