Vanderbilt tops Gamecocks for first SEC win of season. What went wrong for USC?
On Saturday night, Vanderbilt won just its fourth Southeastern Conference game in three seasons.
Half of those wins have come against South Carolina.
After the Gamecocks had seemingly righted the ship in Wednesday’s 24-point victory over Georgia, Frank Martin’s team came out flat on the road against the last-place Commodores and gifted them their first SEC win of the season.
Behind an electric Scotty Pippen Jr., Vandy (5-8, 1-6 SEC) defeated the Gamecocks, 93-81, dropping USC to 2-4 in conference play. The loss marked the second time the USC has allowed 90-plus points in the past eight days, after the team lost to Auburn, 109-86, a week ago.
Vanderbilt held the lead for all but one minute of the 40-minute contest.
3 Observations from USC-Vandy
1. Turnovers fuel Vandy fastbreak
Guards Seventh Woods and Jermaine Couisnard combined for eight turnovers in a sloppy first half for the Gamecocks, allowing Vanderbilt to get out in transition and score easy baskets inside. The Gamecocks finished with 16 turnovers overall.
There was a brief flicker of hope for South Carolina in the middle of the half when the Gamecocks went on a 16-3 run, but the team couldn’t maintain rhythm.
2. Defense can’t slow Pippen, Evans
Pippen Jr. and fellow Guard Maxwell Evans combined for a whopping 52 points, as the Gamecocks defense had no answer for either player.
The Gamecocks allowed Vanderbilt to shoot 49% for the game and 39% from the 3-point line.
3. Hannibal hurt
One of the few bright spots on the night for the Gamecocks was the play of sophomore guard Trae Hannibal who made all four field goals for 10 points. However, he left the game in the second half with an apparent back injury.
Next USC basketball game
Who: South Carolina (4-6, 2-4 SEC) at Florida (10-4, 6-3)
Where: O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Watch: SEC Network
