COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the first time in a long time, the South Carolina men’s basketball team had a complete roster at its disposal on Tuesday night.
But that didn’t matter against a red-hot No. 9 Auburn (13-1, 2-0 SEC) team, which dealt the Gamecocks an 81-66 loss on the first night of Southeastern Conference play for South Carolina.
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers caught fire midway through the first half, riding it to their 10th straight win.
Here’s what we learned about the Gamecocks (9-4, 0-1).
Kessler, Tigers dominate the paint
Coming off a triple-double against LSU, Auburn 7-foot-1 center Walker Kessler turned in yet another sterling performance against the Gamecocks, creating problems all night long in the paint.
Heading into the matchup, South Carolina coach Frank Martin pointed to Kessler and the Auburn big men as cause for concern, and the Gamecocks were unable to find answers.
The Tigers outscored the Gamecocks 36-24 in the paint, using their size to defend the basket and consistently driving the lane on the offensive end.
Kessler finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Offense out of rhythm
Though starters Wildens Leveque and James Reese returned from COVID-19 protocol and Jermaine Couisnard (ankle) and A.J. Wilson (knee) both returned from injury, the Gamecocks looked out of sorts through much of the contest.
Turnovers struck early often, with the Gamecocks turning the ball over 20 times.
Outside of Erik Stevenson’s 23 points and five 3-pointers, the Gamecocks couldn’t shoot with any consistency for much the game. With Kessler and Auburn clogging up the pain, the Tigers all but dared the Gamecocks to shoot from deep, and they couldn’t make Auburn pay.
However, the Gamecocks did show moxie late in the game. After trailing by as many as 21 points, the Gamecocks didn’t roll over in the second half. Midway through, South Carolina went on a 16-4 run and trailed by as few eight points with about six minutes to play. But the Gamecocks couldn’t complete the comeback.
Wilson, Bryant go down with injuries
Though the Gamecocks opened the game at full strength, they didn’t end the game that way.
Forward Keyshawn Bryant left the court in the first half with an apparent arm injury, sitting out the rest of the game and wearing a sling on his left arm.
Wilson, after just returning from a knee injury, took a hard fall and was poked in the eye in the second half and walked off the court gingerly.
