Feb. 13, 2009

South Carolina at Alabama | 3 p.m. ET

GameTracker | Live Audio | Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
South Carolina at Alabama

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tipoff: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Arena: Coleman Coliseum (15,316)
Series: Alabama leads, 19-11
Series Trend: South Carolina has won one
Television: Raycom Sports
Dave Baker (play-by-play), Larry Conley (analyst)
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network
Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Casey Manning (analyst)

Game Preview
South Carolina (17-5, 6-3 SEC) will play four of its final seven-regular season games on the road, beginning with a Saturday matchup at Alabama (13-10, 3-6 SEC) this weekend. South Carolina looks to win its second game in a row Saturday, while the Crimson Tide, led by interim head coach Philip Pearson, look to snap a two-game league losing streak. The meeting marks the first for South Carolina head coach Darrin Horn against the Crimson Tide.

Series Information
Alabama holds a 19-11 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1923 season, including a 10-1 advantage in games played in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks lone win on the Crimson Tide's homecourt came during the 1997 campaign.

Television Information
The contest will be televised by Raycom Sports with Dave Baker calling play-by-play and Larry Conley handling color analyst duties. The contest against Alabama marks the 19th of 22 regular-season televised games for South Carolina.

Radio Broadcast Information
The game will be broadcast on the ISP Gamecock Radio Network with Mike Morgan on the call with play-by-play and Casey Manning handling color analyst duties. The Gamecock Radio Network reaches throughout the state of South Carolina.

Scouting Alabama
• Alabama enters Saturday's contest with a 13-10 overall record, including a 3-6 mark in SEC play. The Crimson Tide has lost four of its last five contests, with the lone win in the stretch coming against Georgia, who winless in the SEC.

• Alabama is winless on the road this season, including an 0-5 mark in league play, however, UA has performed solidly in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum for a 11-3 record in Tuscaloosa.

• Senior guard Alonzo Gee leads three Alabama players who average double digits entering Saturday's matchup. Gee's 14.0 points per game this season is a team lead, while he also collects a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest. Gee recorded seven points and collected nine rebounds in the most recent Alabama loss at SEC West leader LSU last Saturday.

• Sophomore guard Senario Hillman averages 13.0 points per game, while he paces the Tide with 2.1 assists and 2.0 steals per outing. Junior guard Mikhail Torrance joins Hillman in the UA backcourt. Torrance provides 8.9 points per game. He leads the squad with 13.4 points per game in SEC play.

• Freshman forward JaMychal Green provides 10.1 points per contest. Green, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week award winner this season, was injured in the contest against LSU and was unable to play in the second half. He is listed as probable for Saturday's matchup against the Gamecocks.

Scouting South Carolina
•South Carolina enters Saturday's contest with a 17-5 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in SEC play. The Gamecocks join Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee in a four-way tie for first place in the SEC Eastern Division entering Saturday's contest.

• For the second week in a row, South Carolina is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today and the Associated Press Top 25 polls. Prior to this season, South Carolina had not received a vote or been ranked in either poll since the Jan. 10, 2005, poll.

• South Carolina currently holds an RPI of 43, according to realtimerpi.com. Only two SEC teams - Tennessee (21) and Florida (30) - rate higher than the Gamecocks.

• Two of South Carolina's losses this season came without sophomore center Sam Muldrow in the lineup. Muldrow, who turned in a career-best 18 points in South Carolina's victory over Georgia on Feb. 7, is a solid shot blocker and rebounder for the Gamecocks.

• Devan Downey averages 20.0 points per game to lead four Gamecocks who average double digits entering Saturday's contest at Alabama. Downey also paces the team with 4.4 assists and 2.9 steals per outing. To date, Downey has collected at least four assists and three steals 11 times in a single game this season. He has posted double-digit scoring figures in 21 of 22 games, posting 11 20-point performances, including two 30-point performances, and he has led or shared the team lead in scoring 17 times.

• Senior guard Zam Fredrick provides 15.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He was one of five Gamecocks to register double digits (13) in the most recent win against Georgia.

• Dominique Archie nearly earned his fourth double-double of the season against Georgia on Feb. 7, but was just one rebound shy of the mark with 12 points and nine boards. Archie averages 11.5 points per outing and ranks second on the squad in both rebounds (6.8) and steals (1.5) per game. Archie looks to be the 42nd Gamecock to etch his name in the history book, as he needs just 143 points to reach 1,000 in his career.

• Sophomore big men Sam Muldrow and Mike Holmes pose a threat for opponents on both ends of the floor. Muldrow - who scored a career-high 18 points, while collecting seven rebounds in the most recent Gamecock win against Georgia - provides 6.7 points and 5.3 boards per game. Holmes averages 11.2 points per game, while he leads the squad and ranks sixth in the SEC with 7.7 rebounds per outing.

SEC Streaks - Homestyle
South Carolina currently owns a five-game HOME SEC win streak (Jan. 10, Auburn, 68-56; Jan. 21, Florida, 70-69; Jan. 24, Ole Miss, 82-71; Jan. 28, Vanderbilt, 86-76, Feb. 7, Georgia, 79-68), its first since the 1998 campaign when the Gamecocks won their first seven league games at home (Jan. 7, Vanderbilt, 71-71; Jan. 10, LSU, 70-53; Jan. 21, Tennessee, 81-51; Jan. 28, Florida, 74-72; Feb. 11, Alabama, 74-63; Feb. 14, Mississippi State, 74-63; Feb. 24, Georgia, 78-76). A 69-57 loss to Kentucky halted the streak.

Consecutive 3-Pointers Made
South Carolina has made at least one 3-pointer in 225 straight games dating back to an 0-of-19 performance from beyond the arc in a 64-57 loss to Mississippi State on March 2, 2002.

Downey Earns SEC Player Of The Week Award
Devan Downey was named the SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 2 after averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in leading the Gamecocks to wins over Vanderbilt and at Kentucky. Downey tallied 18 points, while adding four assists and a team-best three steals in the Gamecock victory over Vanderbilt on Jan. 28. Downey backed that up with one of his top performances of the season in Carolina's upset of then-No. 24 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Jan. 31 when he tallied 23 points, four assists and four steals in the victory. With three seconds left, he nailed a turnaround jumper to give the Gamecocks the one-point victory. The award was the first for a Gamecock player this season.