Revenge was served up and the Kentucky Wildcats took the opportunity to prove that the early season loss to South Carolina should have never happened. The Wildcats beat the Gamecocks in Rupp Arena by the score of 82-61.
Devan Downey led the way for the Gamecocks (14-13, 5-8) scoring a game-high 26 points but it wasn’t enough as the second-ranked Wildcats (28-1, 12-1) were able to avenge their only loss of the season.
South Carolina never led, and every time it started to chip away, the Wildcats had an answer. I was proud of USC for the fight early on but it was evident that UK was determined to win this game and their interior play was too much for SC to handle.
Patterson and Cousins were dynamic inside. Who needs John Wall when two big man can dominate a game. Cousins had 19 points and 11 rebounds to increase his UK freshman record for double-doubles to 17. Patterson had 23 Pts, 8 Reb, 2 Stl, and 4 Blk. Just look at those stat lines from those two players and you can see why this was a 20+ point win for the ‘Cats.
Saw a glimpse of the future in Lakeem Jackson who stepped up his game for Carolina and that was one bright spot. Jackson finished the game with 16 points, four rebounds, and a team-high three steals in his 27 minutes worth of action.
Why USC lost:
· Shot 4-20 from 3 ball land.
· Just 5-7 from the FT line as UK was 15-20.
· Outrebounded 26-44.
· Shot 38% from the field as UK shot 50%.
· The Gamecocks did not get a single point from their bench.
As with any loss, you hope you can learn from it. The Gamecocks must improve on shot selection and learn to box out to help get rebounds. Horn and his crew must erase this loss from their heads and focus on winning 2 of the next 3 games. I would love for that to happen as the NIT selection committee is watching and losing 5 of the last 6 does not help the case. Not to mention USC sits in 5th place in the SEC East at 5-8 yet UGa is right there with a 4-9 record. So the basement is getting close and I know this season has had challenges but let’s not finish in last place.
South Carolina returns home on Saturday to face Mississippi State at 6:00 p.m. at the Colonial Life Arena. Then play an Alabama on 3/3 at home before closing out the regular season at Vandy on the 6th of March.
