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Post by AustinHoya03 on Mar 22, 2005 23:33:55 GMT -5
That statistic may be somewhat misleading, though. The Gamecocks had solid wins over Kentucky, Temple, and Vandy on their home court, but it looks like their home OOC schedule wasn't that tough, and wins over the UGAs and Mississippis of the SEC aren't that impressive. The three home losses came to Auburn, Florida, and Clemson.
Having said that, this was the first SC game I have ever watched on TV. Looks like they have good fans and a great facility. Looks like we match up well against the Gamecocks, but it'll be a tough game on Thursday.
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Post by hoyatown5168 on Mar 22, 2005 23:37:28 GMT -5
I was at the game when they lost to Auburn(I'm going to school there next year). This was against the worst team in the SEC, and they weren't having a great year, and they drew about 13,000. They had about 8,000 tonight and probably will have the same or more thursday. Should be a great game.
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jahidihoya
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jahidihoya
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Post by jahidihoya on Mar 22, 2005 23:57:48 GMT -5
I do not trust any team that has a chant that is: "Cocks' "Game" (I may be dyslexic)
Go Hoyas! Bring it to MSG!!!!!!
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Cambridge
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Post by Cambridge on Mar 23, 2005 8:44:15 GMT -5
Tre Kelly is legit. I worry about us being able to contain his penetration.
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HoyaSC
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Post by HoyaSC on Mar 23, 2005 9:58:18 GMT -5
I went to law school at USC and somewhat follow their basketball team. I've been to two games there this season. The key, as usual, will be rebounding. Their front line is underskilled, but athletic. They rebound well and are quick. If we can stay with them on the boards, we'll have a very good chance to win.
What worries me is foul trouble. Their best player is senior forward Carlos Powell. He is a strong 6'7" and takes the ball to the hoop pretty hard. Also has a good jump shot which we will have to respect. My guess is that Green will guard him. Bowman probably isn't strong enough to guard him. Powell has the kind of game that can get Green in foul trouble very quickly. If Green plays less than 30 minutes, we are in big trouble.
The rest of their players are very inconsistent. This inconsistency is why they whipped Kentucky and lost to Clemson. We'll have an advantage in guard play because they aren't very deep past Kelley.
Bottom line: if we can stay with them on the boards and Jeff stays out of foul trouble, we have a very good chance to win. I doubt they have seen a Princeton offense in the SEC, so we should get some easy looks.
Their arena is brand new and very nice, but too big. They benefited from the NIT first-come-first-serve policy against UNLV which allowed the students to ring the court. Usually they are relegated to the rafters and squashed behind the backboards (sound familiar?). I am curious to see what kind of crowd they get on Thursday night competing with the NCAA on TV. They had 8000+ last night.
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HoyaSC
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Post by HoyaSC on Mar 23, 2005 10:04:24 GMT -5
Here is a link to their main message board, the "Fighting Gamecock Forum." southcarolina.rivals.com/forum.asp?fid=1825Don't expect much intelligent discussion of the game. Mostly all you will get is blather about Steve Spurrier healing crippled children and turning water into wine. |
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Mar 23, 2005 10:07:24 GMT -5
What worries me is foul trouble. Their best player is senior forward Carlos Powell. He is a strong 6'7" and takes the ball to the hoop pretty hard. Also has a good jump shot which we will have to respect. My guess is that Green will guard him. Bowman probably isn't strong enough to guard him. Powell has the kind of game that can get Green in foul trouble very quickly. If Green plays less than 30 minutes, we are in big trouble. How would you rate Powell in comparison to a Gomes or a Craig Smith? After number 32 on CS Fullerton managed to pretty much do whatever he wanted last night, Powell could definitely be a concern, but I'm wondering to which extent. |
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HoyaSC
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Post by HoyaSC on Mar 23, 2005 10:14:13 GMT -5
Powell's not an explosive scorer like Gomes. Not as strong as Craig Smith. But his game is very consistent and he is a smart player.
The Providence/Gomes analogy is the one that worries me. I can't remember the name of that center who had a career night against us gathering trash rebounds for easy shots, but that could happen against the Gamecocks. Powell can't take over the game to the extent Gomes did, but if our big men get in foul trouble and don't rebound, then you might see a guy like Renaldo Balkman score a bunch from offensive rebounds.
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nychoya3
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Post by nychoya3 on Mar 23, 2005 10:18:32 GMT -5
They also don't get much time to prepare for an offense they haven't seen all year. I think if we play our game at our pace we have a good shot. They should have a pretty good crowd though.
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Mar 23, 2005 11:15:43 GMT -5
We won at Pitt and at Nova (which if it weren't for the Sumpter injury would be ready to knock off UNC). Although I think it will be tough, I think we are up to the task.
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Post by WilsonBlvdHoya on Mar 23, 2005 11:26:06 GMT -5
We won at Pitt and at Nova (which if it weren't for the Sumpter injury would be ready to knock off UNC). Although I think it will be tough, I think we are up to the task. I don't think so. Have you SEEN UNC (and Marvin Williams) in the first two rounds of the tourney?!?! With or without Sumpter, it wouldn't make much difference. And if Nova wins, I'll be happy to come on the board to eat my fair share of crow...... |
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Mar 23, 2005 11:36:48 GMT -5
This is going to be a tough game for us. Lets be honest, we faced 2 cupcakes these last two games. I know it feels great and everything and having a home game at McDonough, but now we are playing a real team. It will be interesting to see how our guys start the game off. Will we be feeling ourselves a little too much after two dominant victories over inferior teams, or will we come ready to play and focused on beating South Carolina. No matter the outcome, I think coming ready to play tomorrow and putting up a hard earned dogfight is what I'll be looking for from our team team.
Oh yeah, North Carolina is not unbeatable. Iowa st. and Oakland aren't really good teams. Thats why North Carolina looked sooooo great these last two games. Villanova is not a team that is going to roll over because its North Carolina like most teams do. UNC has had trouble with less-talented teams that aren't afraid of them, i.e., Duke and Georgia Tech. However,having Sumpter out will hurt their chances, because UNC is deep.
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ShimmyJr
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Post by ShimmyJr on Mar 23, 2005 11:43:57 GMT -5
Wilson,
don't forget, this Villanova team flat-out embarrassed Kansas this season...They are eminently capable of knocking of a UNC team that is scary talented, but might not have the fire as some other teams.
I see a close game throughout - will be rooting hard for Nova!
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Post by WilsonBlvdHoya on Mar 23, 2005 11:47:34 GMT -5
They flat out embarrassed KS in front of a sold-out Pavilion when KS was ranked #1 in an atmosphere not unlike last night's at McD.
I'm not dissing Nova; they're a legit Sweet 16 (and probably an Elite 8/top 10 team next year). I just think, from what I saw last weekend-regardless of opponent strength, that UNC has a date in St. Louis....
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the_way
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The Illest
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Post by the_way on Mar 23, 2005 11:50:52 GMT -5
They flat out embarrassed KS in front of a sold-out Pavilion when KS was ranked #1 in an atmosphere not unlike last night's at McD. I'm not dissing Nova; they're a legit Sweet 16 (and probably an Elite 8/top 10 team next year). I just think, from what I saw last weekend-regardless of opponent strength, that UNC has a date in St. Louis.... I thought Villanova beat Kansas at the Wachovia center where the Sixers play. NO? |
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Mar 23, 2005 11:52:48 GMT -5
I thought Villanova beat Kansas at the Wachovia center where the Sixers play. NO? Yeah, it was definately at the Wachovia. Still pretty nuts, but not McDonough or Pavilion nuts. Nova has a shot against UNC b/c of that Kansas win--they believe they can do it. And this UNC team strikes me as prime candidate for an upset. |
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Post by WilsonBlvdHoya on Mar 23, 2005 11:54:11 GMT -5
My bad--thought the KS game was at the Pavilion......
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Post by wildhoya on Mar 23, 2005 12:57:57 GMT -5
The Wach atmosphere was great that day(snow and all), better than most Pavilion games [including GU/VU this year].
While McD is cozy and fosters all the reveries, as many here have commented MCI is essential for bigtime games.
MCI is much more accesible to GU than the Wach is to VU.
Hoya Saxa
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TigerHoya
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Post by TigerHoya on Mar 23, 2005 16:01:00 GMT -5
SC played Pitt tough in Pittsburgh and Kansas tough in Kansas.
The 1-pt. loss at home to Clemson was about the same time GU beat Clemson which wasn't the best basketball of the season for the Tigers.
They always play Kentucky tough whether it's in Columbia or in Lexington. As someone else said, they have been inconsistent and Odom could be on the hot seat in a couple of years. Their fans expect NCAAs every year but they haven't won a first round games since the early 1970s (remember they lost to Coppin State and Richmond in the '90s in the NCAAs)
Odom has been giving away tickets to students for their NIT games this year at the dining halls on campus.
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