University of South Carolina Libraries
L Gamecocks BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor The South Carolina men's t basketball team looks to keep its perfect record going when Ole Miss visits Columbia tomorrow. After a near-disastrous December that saw their record at 5-5 at the end of 96, Carolina has Responded by reeling off seven consecutive victories. Now at 12-5 and 6-0 in the SEC, USC entertains the Rebels of Mississippi tomorrow at 1 p.m. in t Frank McGuire Arena. Entering this week's action, the Gamecocks were ranked 28th in the Associated Press poll and just 19 votes shy of cracking the Top 25. After Wednesday's 62-60 victory at Alabama, USC should crack the Top 25 when Monday's poll comes out if they can keep the streak alive. During this current seven-game winning streak, defense has been the key. * The Gamecocks have all but shut down opponents offensively in the seven-game span. Opponents have shot just 162of-431 (37.6 percent) from the field and 38-of-139 (27.3 percent) from long range, and are averaging only 62 points a game. Carolina has held its last seven opponents to field goal tallies of 33.3 percent (Furman), 37.5 percent (Auburn), 26.3 percent (Tennessee), fe 43.1 percent (Mississippi State), 43.3 percent (Florida), 38.8 percent (Georgia) and 42.0 percent (Alabama). South Carolina has also outsoored the opposition 127-92 off of turnovers ine last seven games. The team the Gamecocks will be playing tomorrow is a near-image of Carolina. Ole Miss is one of the strongest ^ defensive teams in the SEC. They are, on average, holding their opponents to just 43.8 percent field goal shooting and 31.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Rebels also average 3.8 blocked shots and 7.8 steals per contest. They force an average of 17.2 turnovers a game. Ole Miss had broken into AP Top | 25 for the first-time in school histoiy JOHN JA1 CLEESE C I- j lay . 'I j FI CR UNIVERSAL nCIKRES riESENii a FISH I MI UM MB GOLDSMITH" PG 131 PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED Sow HUtortoI May Be Inappropriate for Chlldrn Under 13 ^ < face defensii after their upset of Kentucky Jan. 11. The Rebels proceeded to drop games to Mississippi btate and Vanderbilt and out of the Top 25. Mississippi defeated Tennessee 70-48 Wednesday to bring their record to 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Ole Miss has four players averaging double-digit figures in scoring. Keith Carter leads the way with a 13.2 average, but Ansu Sesay (12.9 ppg), Jason Smith (11.0 ppg) and Joezon Darby (10.9 ppg) are not far behind. The Gamecocks have experimented with nine different starting lineups this season, but the lineup of BJ McKie, Melvin Watson, Larry Davis, William Gallman and Ryan Stack has been the same for the past five games. Gallman has started the last eight games (a first in his career) while USC has gone without a "true" center with Stack at the other forward position. Gallman has arguably been the biggest surprise of the season. The sophomore from Chester, S.C., is averaging 10.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during the nine CAROLI William <Vall...ai. BJ j #2C^7 !i#- -JC" Ryan Stack ?lf!* jLaci 8546-11 Jr. : #4j^ VflE LEE KEVtt :URTIS KUNI sUmy I 111''/ -%H[ i air w \ x~ilM w b> I f w \ \fl ? - ^ )W!m> EATUf Don't Pet Them. TOMBS! Fill mourn 'HIKE (MIE "iitmtiiiiBiim sr ft """'SROIIERT YOUNG and FRED! ZOMITNG SOON www.fierce-creatures.com SP e-minded games he has started. The "Triple Threat" guard trio of McKie, Davis and Watson are another reason Carolina is on a roll. The three have averaged 48.6 points, 13.2 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 6.2 steals per game over the last five games. South Carolina is 4-3 lifetime against the Rebels and are 2-0 in Columbia. Last season, USC was beaten by Ole Miss 75-65 in Oxford, Miss. The Rebels opened up a 16-point lead in the first half and never looked back. Carolina was killed by Ole Miss' outside shooting as the rebels hit 8 of 17 threepointers. McKie led the team with 17 points, while Davis and Nate Wilboume added 13 each. As of Thursday night, less than 1,000 tickets returned from student distribution remain on sale for the game. Tickets are available at the USC Athletic Ticket Office on Rosewood Drive or by calling 777-4274 or 1-8004SC-FANS. NA^Q IcKie Miehai iSt, ":WM 7 Davis Keith 1 MICHAEL PALIN mHR W^l lb IES S" lONNIfCOBETI CAREK LOWELL *? '8 MIQUE SHAMIEtG ?ii JOHN CIEESE Tnrniri 1 ITlTIirrnni nnrirr iwtmi AjjyputuA)]-'^[ - ORIS Ole Miss team HP9! \WkjM 1 v^^h&& II |^|R Hk^AhK^^K *~ ^ ^ B ^Bsri# m fii ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock Sophomore William Call man is averaging 8.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks. L^MISS el White JaSi??? Smlth 3 1 ' Anthony Boone |-4,S?-:^|f4I^6-ll Jr.. M Don't miss your cha This year, The Gamecock has a v 14th's issue of The Gamecock fc Simply pi i C ^ Happy Va B. To: From: Your special t will be placed Writp a cnpriol mo ?? ntv u jpvviai iiiv t] VearVat", l&vinfr #y4ell) . / (we yew Take $5 and your me on the 4th Floor of stairs) to proc | Fop more USC moves to ( win seventh in-, ROAD WIN continued from page 8 Alabama that helped them back into the game. The Tide wenton an 11-2 run in the second half, closing the gap to three when Eric Washington scored.with 12:09 left to make the score 44-41. USC got back on track in the next few minutes as they went back up by nine with 7:09 remaining. Some missed free throws down the stretch allowed Bama back in the game, however. USC made only two of six free throws in the last two minutes, and made only six of 16 for the game. The Tide took advantage and used a quick, 15-5 run to go ahead, for the first time since early in the game, when Anton Reese drilled a 3-pointer to give his team a 58-57 lead. It was the first time ever that Alabama has lost to tJSC in Tuscaloosa. Lately, USC has been in its share of nail-biters on the road. In their past two games on the road, against Florida and Alabama, the HEY Gamecock Sport: Bad. R< I mean, we're despe Qnmp r*f \/mi m9v hp tl UVI1XV VI J VU 111WJ *-^v/ v* can't, like, write too g Hey, we know. We'll l how desperate we are. grader. If you can strinj a sentence, we need yc seen a keyboard before, fella. What have YOU g Gamecock Spi The proud. Th y Valer nee to wish your loved one a Happ ery special offer for you. Buy a Vak >r $5 and get a FREE four-line class Step 1: ick one of our two Valentine "< ""V Happy Valentir I To: From: ^ Your special two^ will be placed her ilentine s Day wo-line message here. Step 2: ssage to that special person. The ^ped and placed into your card. y$u if ol^crf! of eofy of iovinyy h$ngy bonny! Step 3: :ssage to Student Media Adverti Russell House (accessible by th :ess your card order and your cla ; information, call 777 5-0 in SEC, a-m\\7 at 4Rq ma u _f v/ r f ut jL/uiiiu Gamecocks have won with lastsecond layups. Against Florida, USC came back from 16-down in the last five minutes, and then, after three leadchanges, a BJ McKie layup gave Carolina the win. The win also marks the first time . ever that USC has been more than three games over .500 in league play. , The six wins already surpass the win totals from Carolina's first four years in the SEC, as the Gamecocks won three games in 1992, five in 1993 and four in 1994. Carolina was a combined 17-47 in its first four SEC seasons, but is 14-8 over the past two years after an 8-8 mark last season. The Gamecocks have a better record away from home than at Frank McGuire Arena. Carolina has won six of eight games away, including first-time wins in Starkville (Mississippi St.) and Alabama. It's a mark that is a drastic imnmvpmpnf frnm ln<st vpar wVipn USC won only-one road game (Tennessee). YOU s needs writers, sal bad rate. We'll take anyone, linking, "But hey man, I * ood. I mean, y'know?" :ake you anyway. That's Once, we hired a thirds' five or more words into >u. Hell, if you've ever we need you. So c'mon ;ot to lose. irts. The few. e semi-literate. itine! y Valentine's Day! . intine card to be printed in Feb. ified ad. Here's how it works... ^ards." ie's Day line message e. I ; message will be You ge t the point. sing Department e elevators and ssified ad. -1184 IDic (5amccock