For the bulk of Tuesday’s clash with Baylor, the South Carolina men’s basketball team looked like it belonged on the same court with the perennial Big 12 contenders.
But, despite a deficit that never surpassed 10 points, the Gamecocks couldn't seal the upset against the Bears, falling by a score of 69-65.
“Losing’s never good. I never understand how losing helps your team,” head coach Frank Martin said. “But playing this kind of game is good for our team, especially this early.”
The contest was broadcast live on national television as a part of ESPN’s 24-Hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, and Martin went on to say that Tuesday’s loss was a missed opportunity for the program to make a statement with all eyes on Colonial Life Arena.
As the final score will attest, neither team significantly outplayed the other.
Baylor shot 45 percent from the field while South Carolina’s field goal percentage was 41. The Bears had 11 turnovers to the Gamecocks’ 10. South Carolina hauled in just four more rebounds than its opponent, and the list goes on to roughly the same tune.
But the general feel throughout the game was a lack of offense from the Gamecocks when they needed it most.
South Carolina’s guards turned in several impressive stat lines, but it was more out of necessity than a few individuals taking over the game.
Baylor’s defense effectively cut off the paint for the Gamecocks. The South Carolina backcourt was forced to swing the ball around the perimeter until someone had to put up a shot, removing the Gamecock bigs from the equation.
“It was kind of frustrating, because the way they play their zone is kind of different than a regular 2-3 zone,” sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell said. “They deny and push the wings up, so it was kind of different. They stopped our inside passes and our driving lanes.”
Thornwell and redshirt senior Tyrone Johnson scored 16 and a game-high 21 points, respectively, from their guard positions to lead South Carolina offensively.
The only post player that scored in double figures was junior forward Michael Carrera, who registered 10 points and tacked on six rebounds, the second-most on the team.
The fourth and final player to hit double digits was freshman Marcus Stroman, who may have been the single-most encouraging takeaway from Tuesday’s loss. The first-year point guard ran the offense in the 27 minutes he was on the court, and added five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal to his final tally.
“I love Marcus Stroman. The recruiting experts obviously didn't think much of his signing. I think he’s a winner,” Martin said. “He was telling the upperclassmen what to do on the floor. That’s the kind of connection he has with what coaches want, already.”
A testament to the Columbia native’s versatility, Stroman was the only player on the Gamecocks roster to register in every statistical category.
Tuesday was a chance for South Carolina to avenge last year’s loss to the Bears, another near-upset that saw Baylor win 66-64 in Waco, Texas. The fight that the Gamecocks put up in last season’s installment took the bulk of the basketball-watching public by surprise. But with a more experienced roster in 2014, the consensus was that South Carolina would be able to hang around this year.
The Gamecocks did just that, and even though it will still count against South Carolina’s tally this season, not all losses are created equal.
“Last year we actually were in control of the game at the end and we gave it away. This year we were fighting to get back in the game, and they wouldn't let us,” Martin said. “But in the end, it’s the second game of the year. We didn't schedule this game for any reason other than to challenge our team and give our program unbelievable exposure against a big-time opponent.”