Rocking on Top: South Carolina silences No. 5 Tennessee on the road
It was loud and frenzied at Rocky Top, there’s no other way to put it. Orange and white pom-poms colored the student sections as Tennessee’s iconic song filled the Food City Center — packed with fans to watch their nationally ranked men’s basketball team.
Tuesday night, however, the night didn’t end in cheers. Instead, No. 5 Tennessee was silenced by South Carolina, 63-59, dropping the Volunteers to15-5 and 5-2 in the SEC.
It was the first time since 1997 that South Carolina (18-3, 6-2 SEC) defeated a top 10 team on the road. And it was USC’s second win against a ranked team in three games and second Quad 1 win of the season.
“It shows that we have a chip on our shoulder right from the beginning,” Ta’Lon Cooper said. “Not being ranked? It’s OK. We’re just going to keep playing our ball and trying our best.”
Made it when it counted
Make no mistake, Tennessee had its shots. The Vols went on runs, cutting it to a one possession game with two minutes to play. But they struggled at the free-throw line, and they were quiet from the arc.
Tennessee shot four 3-pointers against South Carolina and was 11-for-18 from the free throw line.
South Carolina had its shots, too. Ta’Lon Cooper led the Gamecocks with 18 points, BJ Mack just behind with 16. USC didn’t have its best 3-point night, going just 10-for-28, but were winning the rebound battle for most of the game. Every player had at least two rebounds with Josh Gray grabbing seven.
“It’s just shows the depth of being able to go down,” Mack said. “They see us battling down there, so it’s easy for the guards to come down and just snag a rebound. That helps us out knowing that we have guys like Meechie (Johnson) and Ta’Lon to come down there and battle with us.”
Cooper’s two biggest shots of the night were both 3-pointers, forcing timeouts and giving USC a two-possession lead. His second came with 40 seconds to play, but Tennessee made it a one-score game again with 30 seconds left.
South Carolina took advantage of its free throws, and Tennessee missed its final shot of the game. The Gamecocks did what they came to do: Make the shots when it needed to happen.
Rock solid defense
USC came into Rocky Top with the best statistical defense in the SEC. After allowing just 25 points going into halftime, the Gamecocks are still on pace to maintain that in-season crown.
Tennessee shot 18% from 3-point range in the first half, lost the rebound battle and had six turnovers. The Gamecocks limited the Vols to just one player in double figures, Dalton Knecht, at halftime. By the final buzzer, Tennessee had two players in double figures: Knecht with the game-high 31 points and Santiago Vescovi with 10.
“We tried really hard to be in two places at once,” USC head coach Lamont Paris said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to help and get back to your guy.”
The Volunteers were going to go on runs, it’s what they do. They finished the game making five or their last seven shots, including the 3-pointer to make it a one-score game.
Even with four players in foul trouble, the Gamecocks found ways to get turnovers in their favor. USC didn’t register a block, but had five steals. They scored seven points off turnovers, had 31 defensive rebounds. Paris’ approach to man-to-man coverage worked.
They kept Tennessee under 60 points when it was all said and done. It was the Vols’ lowest scoring performance of the season, topping the 69-60 loss to then-No. 1 Kansas during the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22.
“We just had to come in and believe that we are who we are,” Mack said. “Get stops, take care of the ball.”
Welcome back, Myles Stute
Starting forward Stute hasn’t played since suffering a left shoulder strain against Georgia two weeks ago. He was available against Missouri on Jan. 27, but didn’t play. Paris put him in the game five minutes into the contest.
In his 20 minutes of action, Stute scored 11 points, including three-straight 3-pointers. Stute contributed to half of South Carolina’s bench points against Tennessee. He looked relaxed by the physicality of Tennessee’s defense. It was like he’d never left.
“I wanted to go Saturday bad, I’m not going to lie,” Stute said. “I’m competitive. I love to play I love to play this game you know at this level especially in the SEC. I hate to take any game any practice off.”
Paris said his junior forward had been practicing prior to playing Missouri, but kept Zach Davis in the starting lineup while he was getting back to 100%. It allowed Paris to later use Stute when South Carolina was approaching foul trouble with its bigs in the final eight minutes of the game.
Mack, Meechie Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles all had three personal fouls with eight minutes left to go. It forced Paris to rely on the newly returned forward. He was confident in Stute. When Stute went to the free throw-line to ice the game, he did just that.
“There was no doubt in my mind,” Stute said. “I knew we were winning this game. And if I had to make those free throws to do it, I would’ve done just that.”
That’s certainly one way to make a return.
Other notable stats
According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the first time since 1968 that USC has won two games against top 10 opponents in a three-game span since 1968, when the Gamecocks defeated Duke and UNC.
Cooper has scored double digits in his last four games, totaling to 61 points and 15.2 points per game.
USC is now 11-3 when the Gamecocks hit at least 10 triples under Paris. All three losses were road games.
Gray’s seven rebounds led the team. It’s the second time the forward has led the Gamecocks on the glass this season.
Next four games
Feb. 3 at Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 6 vs. Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 10 vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 14 at Auburn, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
