#17 Mississippi State basketball (12-1) begins SEC play on Saturday against the South Carolina Gamecocks. At 10-3 with a NET rating of 85th, South Carolina is considered the bottom team in the league, but they're no slouch. The Gamecocks have a win over a good Clemson team, and two of their losses are to Indiana and Xavier. They're more than capable of being competitive. Here's what to know about South Carolina before Saturday's matchup...
South Carolina basketball is a defense first team
South Carolina's offensive stats are fairly pedestrian, but they've been good on the defensive end. They allow just 65.6 PPG, 41% shooting, and 31.5% three-point shooting. They limit three-point attempts and force opponents to try and attack talented bigs inside. Though they don't force many turnovers, they don't let opponents get to the free throw line frequently either.
South Carolina Gamecock to know: Forward Collin Murray-Boyles
The best player on the Gamecocks is easily forward Collin Murray-Boyles. The 6-7, 230 post player leads them with 16.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. He's who they'll look to run much of their offense through, and if Murray-Boyles is a familiar name to State fans, it's because he dominated the Bulldogs to close the regular season last year. Murray-Boyles had 19 points on 9-10 shooting with eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals the last time these teams played. There's no doubt Chris Jans will do everything he can to make sure his squad doesn't allow a repeat performance.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs post players will be tested against the Gamecocks
KeShawn Murphy and Michael Nwoko have emerged as breakout players in the post alongside Cam Matthews, and they'll get their biggest test yet on Saturday. South Carolina likes to run their offense through their bigs, meaning that trio will be challenged in this matchup. On the flipside, opposing bigs have needed to have good offensive days against Carolina to find success. State needs their group to step-up.