South Carolina drubbed at George Washington
South Carolina’s struggles away from home continued Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks, after getting swept in the Charleston Classic, were drubbed 79-55 on the road at George Washington in the team’s first true road game.
It’s the seventh time since the 2010-11 season the Gamecocks have lost a non-conference game by at least 25 points.
How it happened
Things got away from South Carolina quickly in large part because of the offense’s inability to get off the ground. The Gamecocks found themselves down by as many as 26 points in the first half thanks to the Colonials shooting 50 percent from the field and 5-for-13 from three.
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South Carolina, meanwhile, went through a few scoring droughts and ultimately made just eight field goals in the first half on 33 attempts. The Gamecocks shot 3-for-11 from three, one of those a Chico Carter trey that rattled home at the halftime buzzer.
The Gamecocks never led in the game and a tough start to the season has gotten tougher with the record now slightly under .500 with a tough game at Georgetown looming.
Things didn’t get better in the second half. After a slow start for both teams out of the gate, the Gamecocks found themselves on the wrong end of a 15-3 run and couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole they created.
George Washington ballooned its lead to 30 four minutes into the second half and didn’t look back, winning by 24.
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Both Chico Carter and Meechie Johnson, dealing with ankle injuries, played. Carter had 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting and three threes while Johnson had six points on 25 percent shooting.
GG Jackson had an off night, finishing with 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting. He had a much better second half after missing seven of his first eight shots in the first half.
South Carolina chipped away late and did shoot better in the second half, but it was far too late.
Two observations
South Carolina won’t win a lot if it can’t convert at the rim–The Gamecocks missed a ton of easy, high-percentage looks Wednesday. That has been a bugaboo all season. South Carolina shot just 32.5 percent (13-for-40) from two and didn’t get much from the frontcourt. That has to change with stiffer competition on the horizon.
The Gamecocks need more on the defensive side–That’s a no-brainer, but with where the offense is right now, the Gamecocks have to muck things up on the defensive end and try to turn that into offense. Allowing George Washington to get whatever it wanted en route to shooting 50.8 percent from the field isn’t going to cut it.
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Key stat
Six second-chance points–South Carolina rebounded 34.1 percent of its misses but only had six second-chance points. When shots aren’t falling, teams need to find a way to take advantage of stolen possessions. That happens by converting at the rim or drawing fouls. The Gamecocks did neither of those things Wednesday.
Turning point
South Carolina cut George Washington’s lead to one point early. GG Jackson missed a free throw on what would have been a three-point play to tie the game. George Washington immediately went on a 22-6 run after that to put the game away in the first half.
Up next
Things don’t get any easier for South Carolina. The Gamecocks now have to stay in Washington D.C. and play at Georgetown Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for noon on Fox Sports 1.
