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January 8 Sheet

Mississippi at South Carolina (-2) - 4:30pm Pacific
The Gamecocks have not played the most difficult schedule in the world but all four of their losses (at Georgetown, at NC State, at Wyoming, at Colorado State) were on the road at tough places to play. The four opponents mentioned above are a combined 33-0 at home this season. All four of the games final scores are a bit misleading. South Carolina was very competitive in each game, and held second half leads vs Georgetown, NC State, and Colorado State, and only trailed Wyoming by 2. Meanwhile, at the brand new Carolina Center, the Gamecocks are a perfect 6-0. However, fans have not had much to cheer about, only Temple's visit over a month ago was any kind of true test. South Carolina did win that game impressively 66-47.

South Carolina suffered two injuries since last game which may be lending us some extra value tonight. Center Marius Petravicius (5.6ppg) and forward Chris Warren (6.5ppg) are both out tonight. On the bright side, they welcome back 6-10 senior center Tony Kitchings, last years top rebounder and best inside scorer. Kitchings suffered a hand injury during the second game of the season. He has reportedly been practicing very well and will see extensive playing time tonight. He led the team with 16 points in upset win over Ole Miss in SEC tournament last season. Gamecocks are still loaded with talent. The top four scorers remain intact: Carlos Powell (16.3ppg, 5.3ppg, 2.0spg), Chuck Eidson (11.7ppg, 6.9rpg, 5.2apg, 2.8spg), Rolando Howell (11.2ppg, 6.7rpg, 1.8spg), and Kerbrell Brown (8.2ppg). Recently eligible junior forward Ivan Howell, freshman guard Terance Kinsey, and junior guard Michael Boynton will see extended minutes due to the mentioned injuries but they are more than up to the task. This team may have had too much talent, so the two injuries may allow for a more cohesive team and even end up being a positive.

Ole Miss is notorious for being a poor road team and I see no improvement in sight as last years floor leader Jason Harrison has graduated. Last year the Rebels went 1-7 in SEC road games and this year they are 1-2 in road games with only win coming at George Mason. They are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games dating back to last season. This team is not very battle tested. Rebels own only one win over an RPI top 100 team (George Mason). They have not played in a competitive game since loss at Memphis three weeks ago and have not played any games since December 31st win over Samford. Rust could be a factor. Rebels are a solid team and will again be tough at home this year, but they still have not risen to the next level.

South Carolina finished strong last season. They won 6 of 8 to end the season, beating Ole Miss & Kentucky in the SEC tournament and winning at Virginia in route to the NIT final. The win over Ole Miss on a neutral court at the end of last season is notable because the Gamecocks have probably improved more since last year and are playing at home tonight. South Carolina's schedule has them much better prepraed for the start of conference play than Ole Miss. They have played well enough early on this year and will be primed for their first notable home game in new arena.

South Carolina  1 UNIT

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