Nit Thursday

[USC Gamecock]

From today's state newspaper:

Gamecocks peaking at the right time
By STEVE WISEMAN
Staff Writer

South Carolina is doing what all coaches want their teams to do -- play its best basketball in March.

While coach Dave Odom would have preferred the Gamecocks' recent hot streak to have occurred in time to get them into the NCAA Tournament, a strong finish to the National Invitation Tournament will suffice for now.

"This is what you would hope would happen every year," said Odom, whose team faces Ball State in an NIT quarterfinal tonight. "It doesn't always happen. But with this particular team and with this particular group of coaches we've gotten together here, I do think they are playing their best basketball.

"I hope that's a reflection of a year of hard work and trying to get the communication gap closed and get (everyone) understanding on the same page and the confidence level where it needs to be."

USC (20-14) appeared confident coming out of December, when it won its last five nonconference games to enter Southeastern Conference play with a 10-3 record.

The rugged SEC schedule proved otherwise.

"I think the confidence level from the coaches has been where it needs to be all year long, but I'm not sure the players have always had the confidence in themselves," Odom said.

The Gamecocks lost one-point games at home to Kentucky and Alabama, a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifiers, and suffered disheartening losses at home to Vanderbilt and on the road to last-place Auburn.

The loss at Auburn started a three-game, regular-season-ending losing streak that left USC with a 16-10 record.

That meant an SEC Tournament championship was needed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Odom stressed that to his players, and the Gamecocks responded with wins over Mississippi and Kentucky before a semifinal loss to Alabama.

They've followed it up with wins over Virginia and UNLV to put themselves one win away from next week's NIT Final Four in New York City.

"The Final Four of the NIT will take away the bad taste that we have in our mouths from those games that we should have won that we lost," USC center Tony Kitchings said. "If we get to the (NIT) Final Four, all of that stuff will really be out of our systems."

The statistics show how things have changed.

USC shot 47 percent in the SEC Tournament and is shooting 49 percent in its two NIT wins. In SEC regular-season play, the Gamecocks shot 40 percent.

Kitchings, who averaged 4.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in USC's 16 SEC contests, is a major reason for the improvement. His past five games since returning to the starting lineup, Kitchings is averaging 12.6 points and 11.4 rebounds.

Rolando Howell also has stepped up. The 6-9 sophomore forward is averaging 10.8 points after scoring 9.9 in SEC play.

Senior guards Aaron Lucas and Jamel Bradley have been the team's top two scorers all season. That's continued with Bradley averaging 11.4 points and Lucas 10.8 as USC has won four of its past five games.

"The biggest thing is now we have a better understanding of the system," Lucas said. "We have a better understanding of each person's role as far as how they contribute to the team. The coaching staff has done a great job of being patient with us."

Odom is quick to say that the job is far from done. He points to Tuesday night's rugged 75-65 win over UNLV when the Gamecocks committed 19 turnovers. That's far above their season average of 13.9.

"UNLV knocked us a couple of times, and we didn't react well to that," Odom said. "That shows we're not where we need to be yet. We're closer."

A lot closer, many will say. It remains to be seen if the trials and tribulations of an up-and-down season have prepared the Gamecocks enough to finish off Ball State (23-11) tonight.

The Cardinals have wins over a pair of NCAA Sweet 16 teams, UCLA and Kansas, and have won road NIT games against St. Joseph's and Louisiana State.

"I think all of that is a process that's come along and I do think it's come to fruition now," Odom said. "It's going to have to be bigger and stronger (Thursday) night than it ever has because we're facing a bigger challenge."

_________

I don't care how much USC is peaking right now:

BALL STATE +6'

 

[USC Gamecock]

Ball State has Gamecocks' attention


Thursday, March 21, 2002
BY CHARLES BENNETT
Of The Post and Courier Staff



COLUMBIA - If it were any other team from the Mid-American Conference that South Carolina was playing tonight in the quarterfinals of the NIT, Gamecock coach Dave Odom might have to work a little harder to get his team pumped up.

Since it's Ball State, his job is done. The Cardinals got South Carolina's attention back in November when both teams were playing in the Maui Invitational. Ball State knocked off Kansas and UCLA before losing to Duke. Enough said.

"The good thing about playing Ball State is that they played so well in Maui, they caught the imagination and the fancy of everybody out there, so every time they played we all watched them," Odom said. "We were quickly reminded of the beauty of their game. When you start your season beating Kansas, beating UCLA and playing Duke as well as almost anybody this year has played them, that's considerable."

South Carolina center Tony Kitchings said Ball State's performance in Maui was eye-opening.

"I thought they could compete with anybody," Kitchings said. "They weren't scared of Kansas or UCLA or Duke. For a minute you'd have thought they were one of the big dogs in the tournament and the other team was just the small team.

"They've got talent. That's one thing I do know they have. For a school that nobody ever heard of, they've got players who get it done."

The Cardinals (23-11) use a three-guard lineup and like to shoot the 3-pointer. In fact, that was a big reason they beat Kansas. Ball State made 13 3-pointers on the day they beat the Jayhawks.

Theron Smith, a 6-8 forward and an inside-outside threat, is the team's leading scorer averaging 19.9 points to go with 11 rebounds per game.

Guard Chris Williams averages 16.1 points per game, while guard Patrick Jackson averages 16.8 points per game.

Odom admits that Ball State's eye-opening start to the season also raises a question - what's a team that can knock off Kansas and UCLA in successive games doing in the NIT?

"That was probably a pretty heavy curse to live under for the rest of the year," Odom said. "People saw that and thought, 'If you can beat those teams, then you shouldn't have any problem in the Mid-American Conference.' That's not necessarily the case. Teams that people are calling mid-major, that's one of the great misnomers today. If the Mid-American Conference is mid-major, then there are a lot of mid-majors in this country masquerading as majors. It's a league nobody wants to coach against and nobody wants to play against. There is no difference in what they are playing basketball-wise and the Southeastern Conference."

If Ball State's performance in the Maui Invitational wasn't enough, the fact that the Cardinals have knocked off South Florida, Saint Joseph's and LSU to reach tonight's quarterfinal game should have the Gamecocks' attention.

"I hope there ain't nobody in this locker room thinking this is going to be an easy game," Kitchings said. "They really need to get their minds right because Ball State winning at LSU, that's a hard place to play. That shows you what kind of team they are. We're going to have a tough game."

 

[USC Gamecock]

South Carolina eyes spot in NIT final four
Gamecocks play host to Ball State in what should be the final game at Carolina Coliseum

The Associated Press
COLUMBIA ? When South Carolina plays Ball State tonight for a chance to go to the NIT final four, it really should be the last game in the Frank McGuire Arena.

The 34-year-old Carolina Coliseum has been on borrowed time the past week as the men?s and women?s teams have hosted postseason tournament play. But win or lose, tonight?s National Invitation Tournament matchup against the Cardinals will be the last.

And it will pit two teams who saw high hopes for the season not quite pan out.

Ball State (23-11) earned an early reputation as giant-killer with wins against Kansas, then No. 4, and UCLA, then No. 3, at this season?s Maui Invitational. The Cardinals failed to pull off the sweep and lost to then-top-ranked Duke 83-71 in the championship game.

??The only thing we know about them is what we saw in Maui,?? South Carolina senior guard Aaron Lucas said. ??They are a very talented team that shoots the ball extremely well. They have a great talent on the perimeter, a great inside player, and that?s the only thing we really remember.??

Meanwhile, South Carolina (20-14) watched its NCAA tournament dreams dissolve in close losses in the Southeastern Conference ? especially the last three games of the regular season. While those were tough to take, head coach Dave Odom said, they may have marked a turning point.

??I think being able to overcome that week where we lost three games ? the Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State game at home?I think was kind of turning point for us,?? he said. ??It?s a point where your team either comes together and moves on with great intensity and great intent or your fold up your tents and go home and wait until next year, and our team chose not to do that.??

The Gamecocks? intensity showed against Kentucky in the SEC tournament second round when a stifling defense led to a 70-57 South Carolina victory. South Carolina lost the next game to eventual tournament runner-up Alabama but had the game in reach with seconds to go.

Ball State and South Carolina are playing some of the best ball of their seasons in the NIT, Odom said.

Ball State?s NIT run began in the Open Round with a 98-92 win against South Florida and followed with a 76-54 win against St. Joseph?s to get to the round of 16. The Cardinals hit a barrage of 3-pointers (14-of-26) for a 75-65 victory at Louisiana State on Tuesday.

Thursday?s game will be the Cardinals? third straight road game.

??We feel like a minor league baseball team right now,?? head coach Tim Buckley said Wednesday as his team road a bus to practice. ??We just want to make sure we?ve got clean clothes.??

Buckley said his team would do most of its work in walkthroughs Wednesday and practice about an hour. He doesn?t want to wear out his bread-and-butter outside shooters.

For the season, Ball State hit 293 3-pointers, a school and Mid-American Conference single-season record.

??It?s been a situation where we got guys who can really shoot the basketball,?? Buckley said.

The Cardinals hit a school-record 16 3-pointers against Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis on Dec. 15 and made 15 long-range shots against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 2. Twice this season, the team has hit 14 3-pointers: on Nov. 30 against Elon and Tuesday against LSU.

??The 3s were just falling,?? said Chris Williams, who hit 6-of-11 3-pointers Tuesday on his way to scoring 25 points for the Cardinals. ??We were getting open looks and just knocked them down.??

South Carolina wasn?t knocking down the 3s Tuesday against UNLV. Top 3-point shooter Jamel Bradley was 1-of-7 from long range in the first half. He did find his shot in the second half when he hit three in a row that helped the Gamecocks pull away from the Running Rebels and win 75-65.

South Carolina started its NIT run with a 73-67 win at Virginia.