The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 29, 1997, Page 7, Image 7
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1A METHTK
ATHLETICS
Mens' Basketball @ Vanderbilt
Tonight, 7:30 p.m. EST
Memorial Gymnasium
Radio: AM-560
Womens' Basketball vs. Kentucky
Tonight 7:00 p.m.
^ Frank McGuire Arena
Radio: AM-1400
USC tow
tonight i
LARRY WILLIAMS Senior Writer
Tonight the men's basketbal
team will be looking to continue doinj
what it couldn't do last season: Wii
on the road.
The Gamecocks (13-5,7-0 SEC
travel to Nashville to take on th<
^ Vanderbilt Commodores (11-7,3-4'
hoping to win their their fourth
straight game away from home (8:3r
p.m. EST).
Last year, playing away fron
Frank McGuire Arena produce<
miserable results, as USC posted j
miserable 3-10 road record.
What a difference a year makes
This season, USC been perfect awa;
from home, having posted wins a
Mississippi State, Florida an<
^ Alabama.
Having eight straight wins am
a lofty perch above the SEC Eas
gave USC a No. 25 ranking in th<
Associated Press poll Monday, it
first ranking since 1991.
For sophomQre guard BJ McKie
who won SEC Player of the Wee]
honors Monday, it's the memory o
last year's road disasters that ha
^ produced this year's successes.
% "It made us concentrate a littl
i 1 a f j ?
ittuuci miu olcxy i^jic lutuacu, ithu\i
said. "It's very hard to stay focused
especially when you're away fror
home. The odds are against you, bu
that's part of playing on the road.
McKie, who is second in SE<
scoring with 18.1 points per-gamt
said the team gained wisdom fror
^ those losses as well.
[m
% The Gamecock is
vided in Colut
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SPORTS ON FRIDAY: Saturday
si
Kels to 'M?
to take on
"I feel we've gotten much more
mature as a team," McKie said. "We
could have folded through those three
* games we won on the road.
1 Concentrating on the little things,
making every possession key, that
^ really helped us win on the road."
To win against Vanderbilt, USC
coach Eddie Fogler said the
Gamecocks will have to bring a strong
^ defense to Nashville, which they
didn't in last year's 107-97 loss.
1 "The game there was one of the
* better shootouts that I've been
1 involved in," Fogler said. "In terms
of offensive production, both teams
' were terrific offensively. But they
y scored more points than we did, and
t neither team could guard the other."
* McKie said another shootout is
the last thing USC wants tonight.
i "Everything went in for us, but
t everything went in for Vanderbilt,
e too," McKie said. "Vanderbilt got the
s best end of that deal, because they
shot a little bit better than we did.
!> "Nobody could stop one another,
k so hoDefullv we can ero in [tonightl
f with a little more defense. Last year,
s it was everything except defense."
The Gamecocks and Commodores
e know each other well, having met
e two times last year in addition to
I, the Nashville affair,
n In the teams' first meeting, USC
t came from behind to take an 87-83
overtime win in Columbia.
2 In the NTT, Vandy and USC faced
5, each other for yet a third time. The
n Gamecocks did it with defense,
winning 80-70 to advance in the
W~]
m '
asking the University of So
nbia. Take a moment to fill
Wall Best Place to'
it Store Best Car Wast
ore Best Music Str
tore Best Musical 5
and Drug Store Best Banking
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rge Store Best Car Deale
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ir Shop-Men Best Fitness C
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/isionwear Best Apartmei
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hop Best Bowling
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Bfs Best Movie Tl
is "Take a Girl to the Game" D;
isic City'
i Vandy
tournament.
This year, the Commodores have
been struggling to replace guard
Frank Seckar, on whom they
depended so much in seasons past.
Filling the void left by Seckar
have been forwards Pax Whitehead
C\A. 9 nncA anrl Rillv DpSnaltm (19 4
ppg), and guard Drew Maddux (12.5
PPg)"They
have been able to
overcome Seckar's three point
shooting with Whitehead's ability
to shoot the ball better," Fogler said.
"They're still very good, they're
tough," Fogler emphasized. "Their
frontrcourt players have gotten better.
Dispaltro is now much more of a
factor offensively for them."
After having been voted No. 25
Monday, USC is looking to continue
its climb up the polls.
But, as sophomore forward
William Gallman says, the ranking
isn't something the team has lost
sleep over.
"It's great and all, but I think it's
greater for the fans," Gallman said.
"Itfs something for them to get excited
about."
"I don't think that's a particularly
big deal," the Irmo native McKie
said. "It matters how you finish later
on in the season.
"Our main goal is to keep playing
the best we can, try not to listen to
all the hype. That attitude has gotten
us this far. We're just going to try to
keep it up," McKie said. "If you're
not No. 1 at the end of the season,
what does it actually mean?"
"Cht (5amecock
uth Carolina to cast its voU
out this official ballot and
PRIZES GALORE!!!
Return Ballot to:
Carolina's Best ,|
c/o Student Media r
Russell House
Columbia, SC 29208
Wash Clothes : Best Radio
i BestMornii
)re Best Radio
upply Store Best Club [
Services Best Happy
jly i Best Video
rship Best Dance
/ Best Blues
hone Service Best Jazz (
Best R&B (
n . A I.
p besr Airerm
jalon Best Counti
n
Food and Drink
n
bp Best Place
r Store Best Place
enter Best Place
lency Best Place
it Complex Best Place
Best Place
Best Pizza
Center Best Pizza
Club Best Wing:
leater Best Place
ay at Frank McGuire Arena.
IvJ
McKie hono
r^pBW~a
Wm* \ k * '
Bli M -v m
ROBERT WALTON Hie Gamecock
Gamecocks cn
BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor
It took a while, but the
Gamecocks are back where they
started at the beginning of the
year?the Top 25.
In the latest AP Top 25 released
Monday evening, USC was No. 25.
It is the Gamecock's first national
ranking in six years.
"It makes us feel good to get
national recognition," BJ McKie
said.
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What is it? Read and find out.
re?
Lk5
?
red as SEC PL
BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor
Sophomore BJ McKie was named
SEC Player of the Week Monday
by the conference office.
McKie, who averaged 22 points
and nine rebounds for the week,
helped lead the Gamecocks to
victories over Alabama and Ole Miss
last week.
McKie scored 16 of his gamehigh
18 points in the second half of
the Gamecocks' 62-60 road victory
over the Crimson Tide Wednesday.
"It's a great accomplishment and
it's something I didn't do last year,"
McKie said.
As much as the award is an
individual honor, McKie said he
owes credit to others.
"It makes me feel good but I have
to thank my teammates for that
because without them, none of the
recognitions or individual accolades
would be possible," McKie said.
In Saturday's game, the
Columbia native once again led all
scorers as he poured in 26 points
ick AP Top 25
Many of the pre-season
basketball magazines had Carolina
in the Top 20, but after a 5-5 start,
USC was about as far away as you
can get from receiving votes.
Two weeks ago, they received
only two votes, and last week, they
got 75 votes. With this week's 129
points, they cracked the Top 25.
"We're on a winning streak right
now and look to keep it going,"
McKie said. "Right now we feel we
can win anytime we take the court"
rn
m
nd services proregistered
for
i
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st Subs
st Deli Shop _
st Hot Dog I 01
st Fries
I
St BBQ j Name
st Brand of Beer
st Soft Drink | Address
st Bar
^ ^ I phone #
st Place for Coffee [ Only one
st Ploce for Dessert |
discarded.
ist Ice Cream . apply on al
ist Frozen Yogurt I nstudeni
ist Place for Steak J Faculty
ist Place for Breakfast I E Staff >st
Place for Late Night Food ' | /at
?st Delivery I Arm
i II m
est House of Worship J 1 i
est Youth Activities I \\
est Religious Bookstore . *
THEY SAID IT
"It makes you feel real
good to know that everyone
is behind you and
everyone's excited about
South Carolina and what
we're doing right now."
BJ McKie on students
camping out for tickets
ayer of Week
and grabbed a career-high 11
rebounds.
"BJ was terrific last week," USC
coach Eddie Fogler said. "He was
very good at Alabama, and against
Ole Miss he was absolutely
sensational."
McKie is the leading active scorer
in the SEC, averaging 18.1 points
per game. Kentucky's Ron Mercer
was averaging 18.6 points per game
before blowing out his knee.
The Irmo High School graduate
is also averaging 2.2 3-pointers a
game (4th in SEC), a 40.8 percent
3-point goal percentage (7th in SEC)
and 46.9 percent from the field (5th
in SEC).
He also leads the league in SEC
games only with 19.4 points per
contest.
McKie is the second Gamecock
player in three weeks to be named
SEC Player of the Week. Larry
Davis, who before McKie was named
was the only Gamecocks ever to be
given the honor, was named Player
r?f fhp WpoIt fhr tViP wppV nf .Tan 13
AP Top 25
1.Kansas 14. Villanova
2. Wake Forest 15. Stanford
3. Kentucky 16. Michigan
4. Utah 17. Indiana
5. Maryland 18. Colorado
6. Minnesota 19. N. Carolina .
7. Clemson 20. Xavier
8. Cincinnati 21. Tulsa
9. Louisville 22. Texas Tech
10. Arizona 23. Texas
12. Duke 24. Marquette
13. New Mexico 25. S. Carolina
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