Preview: Mizzou Hoops Seeks Bounce-Back Performance against South Carolina

A week that started perfectly for the Tigers ended with one of their most upsetting losses of the season. Sweeping a season series is a difficult feat in any sport, against any competition, and it becomes even harder in a conference like the SEC this year.

Following the loss, head coach Dennis Gates must prove why he deserves to be NCAA Coach of the Year and get his team in the right mindset for another conference matchup. This presents a great opportunity for the Tigers to bounce back and regain focus as the regular season nears its conclusion next week.

The Tigers' next opponent is the South Carolina Gamecocks. While their season has been largely forgettable, moments like this matchup at Mizzou Arena are where they thrive as they look to pull off a shocking upset.

The Gamecocks enter the matchup with an 11-16 record and sit at the bottom of the SEC standings with a 1-13 conference record. However, they recently earned their first conference win, a blowout victory over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday — the same team that defeated the Tigers last month.

Despite their nearly winless run in the SEC, many of South Carolina's matchups have been closely contested. The Gamecocks lost to No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 21 Mississippi State, and No. 24 Ole Miss by a combined 15 points.

South Carolina did bounce back but suffered a 21-point loss to Florida in their second meeting. They've also been blown out by teams such as Kentucky, Georgia, Oklahoma, and LSU.

Clearly, South Carolina can compete with the top teams in the conference when they're on their A-game. It doesn't happen consistently, but when it does, they can hang with the best.

The Gamecocks' out-of-conference schedule didn't feature the most talented teams, and they still fell to smaller programs like Xavier and North Florida. However, they did manage to defeat No. 18 Clemson before conference play began.

Aside from an impressive 26-8 season last year, when they reached as high as No. 11 overall and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, South Carolina hasn't surpassed 20 wins during head coach Lamont Paris's tenure.

Their last season with over 20 wins and a March Madness victory was the 2016-17 campaign, when they reached the Final Four before losing to Gonzaga.

Minutes for the Gamecocks are dominated by two players, who also top the box score in nearly every stat each game.

First is sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles, who is in his second season at South Carolina. The homegrown talent, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 250 pounds, is a dominant force.

Starting every game this season, Murray-Boyles averages 16 points, 9 rebounds, and nearly 2 steals and blocks per game—leading the team in all of those categories.

His numbers are impressive, and he's strong on both ends of the court, but his efficiency stands out. Shooting 57% from the field while leading the team in attempts is remarkable, and it's clear he's the main leader on the squad.

He doesn't have a developed three-point shot and averages nearly 3 turnovers per game. This means Mizzou's defense must be prepared to defend him, getting him flustered early and forcing him to take three-point shots, which he lacks confidence in.

The other half of this strong duo is Jamarii Thomas, who stands just under 6 feet and weighs just under 200 pounds. However, he doesn't let his size define his play on the court each night.

The senior is in his fourth collegiate season with his third team. He began at UNC Wilmington near his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, but after limited opportunities, he transferred to Norfolk State. His strong performance there earned him a chance to join a bigger program in the SEC this season.

So far this season, Thomas has been impressive, averaging 13 points per game, along with 3 rebounds and as many assists. However, his shooting efficiency has been a concern, as he’s hitting just 36% of his shots from the field and 38% from three, despite taking some of the most shots on the team.

It's worth noting that Thomas leads the team in assists, with just 3 per game. He’s the only player on the team averaging more than 2.5 assists per night, which highlights the team's lack of emphasis on facilitating. This approach often leads to more turnovers.

This is the perfect time for the Tigers to host a team like South Carolina. It's important they don't overlook their competition, but as long as they play their usual brand of basketball and control the rhythm of the game, they should be able to get back on track.

The Gamecocks will travel to Mizzou Arena Tuesday night at 8, looking for their second consecutive conference win.