Gamecocks Ice Cold In Loss To Ole Miss

Head coach Lamont Paris' team got off to a slow offensive start, which carried on throughout the game in their third straight home loss.

The South Carolina Gamecocks took the floor on Tuesday night against the Ole Miss Rebels, looking to get back on track after suffering their second straight 40-plus point defeat this past Saturday evening at the hands of the Texas A&M Aggies. 

The Rebels were coming into the game, the losers of six consecutive games. Still, they outplayed the Gamecocks with their strong defensive rotations and surprising production at the three-point line.

In the first half, some of the issues that had heavily plagued the Gamecocks in their recent defeats reared their ugly heads once again, as South Carolina immediately gave up two offensive rebounds, which led to Ole Miss' first two baskets of the game. Poor weakside defensive rotations in the middle of the half allowed for multiple Rebel baskets off wide-open looks.

Carolina's defensive issues were compounded later by them going ice-cold on the offensive end. At one point, the Gamecocks didn't make a shot from the floor in seven minutes and nine seconds of play and only made two of their final fourteen shots in the first half. Ole Miss managed to sprinkle in enough makes to create a ten-point deficit for the Gamecocks as they headed into the break.

In the second half, South Carolina started nicely, making four of their first six shots to cut Ole miss' lead down to as low as four points. The Rebels, however, would heat up in the second four-minute interval of the half, as they would score five of their six shots from the floor, and three of them would be from behind the arc, an area where Ole Miss was last in the SEC heading into the game.

The contest would remain in the Rebels' favor throughout the rest of the match, as they could prevent long dry spells on the offensive end. At the same time, the Gamecocks seemingly couldn't string together enough good offensive possessions to get within striking distance. South Carolina will retake the floor on Saturday when they take on the Auburn Tigers at the Colonial Life Arena.

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