Missouri 78-South Carolina 59 Game Summary
COLONIAL LIFE ARENA
- A bad start to the game by South Carolina as the Gamecocks started 3-18 from the floor, and the Tigers built a 13-point first-half lead at 21-8. A sign of things to come was the three offensive rebounds the Tigers had on their first possession of the game that finally led to a tipin.
- The Gamecocks finally got going and trimmed the lead to three at 24-21 with 4:20 left in the half, and they eventually settled for a four point halftime deficit.
- The Gamecocks shot only 31% in the first half, including 1-11 from three, while Missouri hit four from deep and had 11 second chance points. Keeping the Gamecocks in the game were the 11 Missouri turnovers USC converted into 13 points.
- USC scored the first bucket of the second half on a Mike Sharavjamts layup to trail by two at 34-32. That was as close as they would get.
- The Tigers went on a 15-3 run for a 49-35 lead with 12:58 to play. The Gamecocks shot 1-7 during that stretch while Missouri was 5-7 with three layups.
- The Gamecocks got as close as seven points at 57-50 with a pair of Kobe Knox free throws with 7:31 remaining. Missouri’s Jayden Stone followed with a three-pointer, and that started the knockout punch run of 11-1 for a 68-51 lead with 4:24 to play. The lead would eventually reach 21 points.
- USC finished at 31% shooting from the floor, including 3-22 from three. The Gamecocks were outrebounded 44-28, and gave up 16 offensive rebounds that Missouri turned into 16 second-chance points.
- The Gamecocks have made just five three-pointers and have given up 33 offensive rebounds in their last two games. In this give game losing streak, they have given up 63 offensive rebounds and 71 second chance points.
- The Gamecocks did force 14 turnovers, which they converted into 15 points, and had only eight turnovers themselves
- Elijah Strong and Knox led the Gamecocks with 12 points each. Stone led all scorers with 22. Mark Mitchell had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
- South Carolina is now 11-13 overall and 2-9 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are idle until next Saturday night when they play at Alabama. Missouri is now 16-7 and 6-4.
They were 1-11 from 3 in first half – then come out after halftime and jack up another 11! Yeah, they doubled their first half output by going 2-11.
This Steph Curry created mindset that the 2-point shot is a bad shot is insane. Do the research. In 64% of college basketball games in 2024-25 the team that shot the most 3-pointers LOST! I never hear anyone talk about that analytic. Hey Lamont – Steph Curry, or Dell, or Ray Allen, or Larry Bird ain’t walking out of your locker room at halftime.
It’s even worse at the prep level.