Game Thread: Southern Cal at South Carolina 11/16

[CaptainCrunch]

Southern Cal (1-1) at South Carolina (2-0) 11/16
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/SCal.gif vs http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/SCar.gif

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Colonial Center
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/colonial-center-1.jpg


Probable Starting Lineups:
Southern Cal
#13 Daniel Hackett 6-5/205 Guard SO 21.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DanielHackett.jpg
#21 Dwight Lewis 6-5/215 Guard SO 12.5 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DwightLewis.jpg
#22 Taj Gibson 6-9/225 Forward SO 13.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/TajGibson.jpg
#32 O.J. Mayo 6-5 200 Guard FR 24.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/OJMayo.jpg
#43 Kasey Cunningham 6-7/225 Forward RS FR 4.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/KaseyCunningham.jpg

South Carolina
#2 Devan Downey5-9/175 Guard SO 17.5 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DevanDowney.jpg
#5 Brandis Raley-Ross 6-2/193 Guard SO 10.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/BrandisRaley-ROss.jpg
#20 Zam Fredrick 6-0/203 Guard JR 13.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/ZamFredrick.jpg
#21Dominique Archie 6-7/200 Forward RS SO 10.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DominiqueArchie.jpg
#44 Sam Muldrow 6-9/216 Forward FR 8.0 ppg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/SamMuldrow.jpg


Southern Cal Bench: Angelo Johnson, Ryan Wetherell, Marcus Simmons, Keith Wilkinson, and RouSean Cromwell
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/AngeloJohnson.jpghttp://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/RyanWetherell.jpghttp://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/MarcusSimmons.jpghttp://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/KeithWilkinson.jpghttp://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/RouSeanCromwell.jpg

South Carolina Bench: Dwayne Day, Chad Gray, Evaldas Baniulis, Austin Steed, and Mike Holmes
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DwanyeDay.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/ChadGray.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/Evaka.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/AustinSteed.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/1232.jpg

Southern Cal Coach: Tim Floyd
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/TimFloyd.jpg

South Carolina Coach: Dave Odom
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/MullikinUSC/DaveOdom.jpg

Southern Cal Schedule:
11/10 Mercer 81-96 L
11/15 @The Citadel 74-47 W

South Carolina Schedule:
11/09 SC State 92-67 W
11/12 The Citadel 103-42 W

[papasmurf]

Home/Away Statistics

Offense For FG% 3P% FT% Reb.

So Cal 74.0 56.6 46.2 61.5 38.0
So Car 97.5 52.8 52.5 68.8 41.5

Defense Agst. FG% 3P% FT% Reb.

So Cal 47.0 32.1 23.8 54.5 26.0
So Car 54.5 30.2 19.6 75.0 31.5

http://covers.usatoday.com/game-matchups/matchup.aspx?page=/data/ncb/game/g6_summary_97.html

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/4370/missli0.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[usc1]

nice teamwork fellas

[CoverTwo]

Gotta contain Mayo & Gibson.

[CockySpurrier85]

That three guard lineup is going to do work on Saturday.

[Gyle41386]

Gotta contain Mayo & Gibson.

And Hackett. He's a very good player.

[papasmurf]

West Coast press viewpoint.

Mayo isn't fazed by cadets' taunts



By Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 16, 2007
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- O.J. Mayo turned the ball over and the cadets cheered. Mayo clanked a jumper and the cadets shook their derogatory signs in glee.

The Citadel's cadets seated along the baseline near the USC bench Thursday night at McAlister Field House showed little restraint with the Trojans freshman in his first college road game.

Related Stories-Hackett has impressive return in USC victory (http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-uschoops16nov16,1,2393076.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports)

The cadets came equipped with signs reading, "Please don't assault our refs" and "Mayo: The Next Michael Vick." One even held up a poster with a picture of Mayo alongside a mug shot of O.J. Simpson.

Mayo drew a suspension as a high school senior for making contact with a referee and was cited for marijuana possession, a citation that was later dropped.

"The cadets, they did a nice job," said Mayo, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in USC's 74-47 win. "Our high school games are kind of like that, and playing in Kentucky was kind of wild like that."

Mayo also had a handful of supporters among a crowd that included his mother, Alisha, and other friends and family who had made the drive from Huntington, W.Va.

Although Mayo seemed to take the taunts in stride, others were outraged. Local resident Jerome Heyward called the signs racist and said he doubted that the cadets would similarly ridicule a white player. Heyward, who like Mayo is black, vowed to contact Citadel officials today and demand an apology to USC.


Ben Bolch


http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-uschoopsep16nov16,1,3677307.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports


http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4076/lokv6.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[SpuR48]

Heyward, who like Mayo is black, vowed to contact Citadel officials today and demand an apology to USC.

Yeah good luck w/ that... dumb ass.

Guess this tool never went to a b-ball or baseball game before? Closer quarters, it's all about mind games. God forbid our students start chanting OOOOO JJJJJJJJ OOOOOOO JJJJJJJ. You will all be racists if you participate...

I hope the first shot is an airball; students: be sure and heckle the piss outta this dude.

[Crazy_Gamecock]

gamecocksonline says the game will be televised on CSS for those with comcast. I hope it's true

[COCKDIESEL]

why isn't it on SS or CSN :-|

[superstar90]

Oh, Lord. Wait until Jesse J. hear's about those signs and comments! :)

We can't let them set up in the half court. Defense or Offense. They are a good bit taller than us, so keep the game fast. Which I think Devan will. Hit some early 3's, and we may be able to open it up a bit.

[go_carolina_528]

Tipoff is only a few minutes away

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

I knew I should have went to the game, there isn't anyone there.

[go_carolina_528]

Brent Johnson just said on the radio that its a good crowd

[carolinathru&thru]

Where's Mike Morgan?

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Morgan is doing the CSS broadcast tonight and he just said 15,000 are expected for the game.

[gmcockfan]

anybody know what channel number the game is on?

[carolinathru&thru]

Morgan is doing the CSS broadcast tonight and he just said 15,000 are expected for the game.

Very Cool :thumbsup:

Wish I could've gone :thumbs:

[carolinathru&thru]

anybody know what channel number the game is on?

58 in Greenville

[go_carolina_528]

Where's Mike Morgan?
TV duty on CSS

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

CSS, channel 58 on Charter in the upstate

[go_carolina_528]

2-2

[carolinathru&thru]

Tied 2-2 baby!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

4-2 Gamecocks

[carolinathru&thru]

4-2 carolina

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Nice strip and nice shot 6-2 Carolina

[go_carolina_528]

6-2 THE USC leading!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Quick 3 by Southern Cal, 6-5

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

7-6 So Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

8-7 Carolina

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Steal by Archie! 10-7 Carolina! So Cal comes back, 10-9

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Mayo just missed a wide open layup for So Cal.

[carolinathru&thru]

Mayo just missed a layup!

[go_carolina_528]

Downey has 6 points so far

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

11-10 So Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Bad pass by Carolina, 13-10 So Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Day called for a travel, turnover Carolina. Carolina called for another touch foul

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Downey for 3! 13-13

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

15-13 So Cal.....Fredrick for 3! 16-15 Carolina!....Mayo for 2, 17-16 So Cal

[snoopcockycock]

anybody have a link for the radio broadcast of this being on the net?

[go_carolina_528]

So Cal leading 19-16

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Carolina being very sloppy with their passes tonight!

[gamecock1125]

womg.com click on listen live

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

anybody have a link for the radio broadcast of this being on the net?

Try uscsports.com

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

19-17 So Cal

[gamecock1125]

gamecocks at the line

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

DOMINQUE ARCHIE WITH A HUGE BLOCK!

[go_carolina_528]

The crowd sounds very loud on the radio

[carolinathru&thru]

The crowd sounds very loud on the radio

yep :thumbsup:

[carolinathru&thru]

Foul on Archie. He's already got 3 :thumbs:

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

wth? Our guy grabs a rebound, falls to the floor, tries to call a TO and they call a travel! And now a So Cal's Gibson just runs over our guy and they call a foul on us....wth is wrong with the refs?

21-17 So Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

our guys look like they have the jitters tonight, they aren't handling passes good at all.

[gamecock1125]

im lovin these refs

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Carolina already has 6 team fouls

Easy jump shot for So Cal, 23-17 So Cal

[carolinathru&thru]

Come on THE USC!!!! Let's go!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

So Cal on an 8-1 run over the last 4:02

[gamecock1125]

i hate this announcer he keeps reminding we are down by our largest margin

[carolinathru&thru]

We can't buy a bucket right now.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Carolina called for another foul, suprise suprise!

[carolinathru&thru]

i hate this announcer he keeps reminding we are down by our largest margin

Mike Morgan's definitely better. At least Mike gets to be on TV tonight.

[gamecock1125]

they better pull it together bout to be down 8

[carolinathru&thru]

Misses the first.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

24-17 after 1 of 2 from the FT line

[carolinathru&thru]

24-17 Trojans

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

They have Downey on lock down right now, can't get an open shot and he is the only one shooting good.

AIR BALL FOR OJ MAYO!

[gamecock1125]

to the line
muldrow

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Muldrow 2 for 2 at the line, 24-19

[gamecock1125]

made both

[gamecock1125]

btw clemson just scored

[go_carolina_528]

Down by 10

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

uh oh! 31-19 Trojans

[go_carolina_528]

btw clemson just scored
This probaly wont be a good night

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Fredricks, count the basket and the foul! 31-21

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

31-22

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

34-22

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

another bad exchange, turnover Carolina.

[go_carolina_528]

We are shooting 29%, So. Cal is shooting 52%

[gamecock1125]

this aint lookin good

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

The Refs have not been kind tonight but with that said, So Cal looks quicker and better coached right now

[gamecock1125]

foul on gamecocks trojans to the line

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

36-22 So Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

We are clanking everything! Even when the shots are open we can't make them.

[gamecock1125]

we cant shoot what else is new

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Downey too strong on the layup but Holmes with the follow! 36-24

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

So Cal gets the lucky roll, 38-24

[gamecock1125]

mike holmes with a basket

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we are so desperate for something we put in the white guy lol!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

38-26

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Downey with the steal, fouled on the layup. Going to the line for 2

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

38-28! Downey makes both, and gets another steal but takes a wild shot allowing So Cal to get an easy shot. But Fredrick hits a shot at the close of the half. 40-30 So Cal leads at the half.

[Cuck Flemson]

It is weird hearing Zam Fredrick's name on the Radio.

His dad was a great one for us!

[go_carolina_528]

Down by ten at the half, 40-30

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we gotta start making these shots or we will get blown out of the water in the 2nd half. To only be down by 10 and shooting as poorly as we are is a testament to our defense but we gotta start shooting better.

[tptgamecock]

Evening all!! Just got here. Listening to a little hardball. Come GAmecocks let's come out hot in the second and take out the Trojans!!

[Crazy_Gamecock]

ok, time for my armchair coach halftime report:grin:

I think offensively we need to keep taking the good shots, they will fall eventually. I think Devan needs to calm down just a bit, it looks like he is trying to make everything happen for us because the rest of the team can't get their shots to fall. Devan has looked real good so far, so has Zam, the blocks by our defense in the first half were the only good thing we did defensively. Our defense has looked awful so far, we have been giving up wide open shots and letting guys right in the lane. Mayo hasn't impressed me so far but maybe we are at least doing a decent job of limiting his points. If we can maintain the intensity we went into halftime with the game is still within reach. We gotta play much better assignment defense though, Odom loves man to man and we aren't doing a good job of that. The only offensive woe I think we have right now is they are not setting plays like they should be. On to the second half, GO COCKS!!!!!!!!! :woo:

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

I wouldn't say our D has looked horrible as much as So Cal's offense has done a good job of moving the ball around. Something we haven't done on offense.

[snoopcockycock]

it amazes me that we have been shooting over 50% from three point range, and tonight we can't hit the water if we fell out of a boat. they need to relax and let the game come to them.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Game is back on, Archie hits a jumper 40-32

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

So Cal makes two FTs, Carolina comes back for another bucket. 42-34

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

good series of passes but a bad shot by Carolina....So cal comes back to make an easy bucket, 44-34

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Mayo just hit a 3, 47-34

[go_carolina_528]

We missing too many opportunities

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

47-36

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

47-38

[gamecock1125]

now we need to play D!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Gibson just traveled like crazy but no call but missed the shot.

[tptgamecock]

Who is this guy doing the play by play. He is pretty good but no Mike Morgan!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Downey took another off balance shot that was no good. And of course we get called for another foul again...

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

48-38

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

I wonder how much not playing since Monday has hurt us? So Cal played just the other night, we might be more rested but we are rusty it seems.

[tptgamecock]

Anyone else listening to the game?

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Carolina for 3! 48-41....another BS block foul called against us.

[tptgamecock]

3!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Anyone else listening to the game?
I'm watching it

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

So Cal at the line, 1 of 2, 49-41

[gamecock1125]

these refs love a good blocking foul

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

BS! They just called goal tending against us the ball was not even going down yet!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

51-41

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

defensive break down, easy jam for So Cal, 53-41

[gamecock1125]

we are overmatched here

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

53-43

[COCKDIESEL]

we are overmatched here
That's discouraging, they got beat by Mercer

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we have no big man down low to rebound and its killing us. None of these small guys know how to box out. We could really use Mitchell Carter right now

[tptgamecock]

What is happening!! Come on Gamecocks let's get this together and come back!! 13:34 down by a dozen again!!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

our guys are trying too hard to make something happen instead of just letting the shots come. They are forcing up some horrible shots and we are fouling on just about every play now it seems.

[gamecock1125]

our announcers are already rationalzing a loss

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

color guy just made a good comment on the tv, crowd is dead, but we haven't given them a reason to get into it.

[gamecock1125]

can we get a call....please

[gamecock1125]

there it is over the back

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

If not for Downey we would be getting blown out of the building! 55-45

[COCKYCOCK]

Defensively, we've done jack crap, with the exception of a few steals. Too many easy baskets for them. Offensively we've rushed too many shots. Odem needs to control his team. I personally don't know if he can!! I know we have a young team, but so do they I believe.

[tptgamecock]

We can still come back. We just need to settle down and play smart basketball!! come on Gamecocks!!

[gamecock1125]

down by 12 with 11:41 left

[COCKYCOCK]

My point. Settling down and playing smart basketaball comes from a head coach. I'm not bashing Odem yet, but my goodness please coach!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Downey misses layup...story of the night, even our best guy is missing shots.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

ROSS for 3!! 57-48

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

ROSS for another 3!!! 57-51

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Crowd has woke up!

[gamecock1125]

single digits!!!!!!!!!!!!

[go_carolina_528]

Back to back 3's!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

What the hell, they are calling blocking fouls on us like our guy isn't just standing there planted!

[tptgamecock]

Back to Back 3!! and the fans are on their feet.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

59-51

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

So Cal for 3, 62-53

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Fredrick with a pull up, 62-55

[gotrice?]

We are hanging around so hopefully we can make a move down the stretch.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

64-55

[tptgamecock]

We;re sinking again!! someone throw out the life jackets!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we need to do 2 things....

Start making those easy layups and put backs

and

someone needs to fall on Mayo's knee

[UgSaCmecocks]

time left?

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Archie with the jumper and gets fouled!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

round 5 mins left...give or take a few seconds

[gamecock1125]

im on a delay with internet radio, gamecock outlaw u r predicting the future of the game for me haha.

[UgSaCmecocks]

thax

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

well here are some more futuristic predictions for you.....

Ross hits two FTs 64-59

[gamecock1125]

woooooooooooooooow ur good

[tptgamecock]

down by 5 come on D!!!! :clap:

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

OMG, Mayo just hit a 3 from Australia!

67-59

[tptgamecock]

4:20 left. Time is running out. Come on guys we can pull this out!!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Archie with the jumper 67-61

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

69-61

[tptgamecock]

They just seem to be making improbably shots.

[gamecock1125]

they r legit

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we are working our butts off for every single point and they are making shots at ease

[UgSaCmecocks]

hope this doesn't hold true but I did a study two years ago throughout top 20 teams all year and it pretty much showed that the team that scores 70 first wins 91% of the time.............oh well just letting ya know

[gamecock1125]

BC made a field goal 7-3 clemson fyi

[UgSaCmecocks]

there's always a 9% chance possible

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

ugh, wide open Dunk....71-61

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

71-63

[tptgamecock]

down by 10 with 2:50 left. :-x

[gamecock1125]

the fat lady is warming up

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

71-65

[gamecock1125]

we need to put in full court pressure

[go_carolina_528]

71-65 So. Cal

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we had it on a few mins ago....and I must say, we have some beautiful cheerleaders and dancers! I'd do anything for a woman that beautiful and I mean just about anything!

[tptgamecock]

The announcers keep saying this has been a well played ball game.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

DAY you idgit! 5 seconds left on the shot clock and Day gets called for a reach around foul!

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

73-65

[UgSaCmecocks]

time

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

75-67 under a minute

[tptgamecock]

7-3 Clemson at the half and their are boo birds out in Death Valley

[go_carolina_528]

Down by 8 with a minute left

[UgSaCmecocks]

dang

[go_carolina_528]

7-3 Clemson at the half and their are boo birds out in Death Valley
Why are they booing?

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

77-70

[UgSaCmecocks]

well we need to rebound no pun intended

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Why are they booing?

They were born Clemson fans. I'd boo too!

[UgSaCmecocks]

They were born Clemson fans. I'd boo too!

reason they are booing is that orange is a halloween color and boo is a known yell at halloween

[gamecock1125]

they were booing the refs

[UgSaCmecocks]

is it final yeta?

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

we gotta hit the practice floor hard this week. I was not impressed with us tonight at all. Just looked like a typical Dave Odom team that can't do what needs to be done to win important games.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

79-73 with 21 secs left

[UgSaCmecocks]

is it over?

[go_carolina_528]

Raley-Ross just hit his 4th three of the night

[UgSaCmecocks]

thax guys for all the updates

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

81-75 with 12 seconds left

[go_carolina_528]

12 seconds left, Carolina down by 6

[UgSaCmecocks]

man so close

[UgSaCmecocks]

we need to work on blocking out

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Game ended on what else, a Dunk by OJ Mayo, Trojans smother Cocks 85-75.

[go_carolina_528]

85-75 FINAL Trojans win

[UgSaCmecocks]

boooooooooooo.... j/k

[gotrice?]

We lost but we lost to a good team and hung with them the entire way. This team we have probably has the most potential of any team we have put on the floor in a long time. Once they gel its going to be very fun to watch. And remember this is a very young team so we have these guys around for a while.

[The Gamecock Outlaw]

Southern Cal is younger than us....just remember that.

[Bleedin'Garnet]

back to reality

[Gamecockfanatic4]

o well move one to the next game I guess

[tptgamecock]

I'm not discouraged. We played hard and did not give up. this team will be ok. If we meet the Trojans again we will win.

[SangareeCrew]

that's a discouraging loss. Hopefully we bounce back.

[tptgamecock]

I did not realize that Southern Cal was preseason 18, They are young but good. We are young and will jell. Maybe the two blowouts did not work to our advantage. We will probably learn from this and be ok as the season goes on. I feel good about this team. GOOO GAMECOCKS!!!

[Cuck Flemson]

we need to work on blocking out

That was a problem last year:thumbs:

[gotrice?]

Southern Cal is younger than us....just remember that.

And OJ Mayo is far more talented than any player on our roster. We aren't at the point where we can pull in players like Mayo so the fact that we are building a solid team is good. The downside to that is we can't put the game on one player's back and have success like SoCal can do with Mayo. As the year goes on we will make big strides and what is bigger yet, after we make those big strides this year almost all come back next year.

[carolinathru&thru]

I'm not discouraged. We played hard and did not give up. this team will be ok. If we meet the Trojans again we will win.


Good post. A loss, especially non-conference, is never a GOOD thing. But, we played with a pretty darned good oppenent and very well could've won that thing. Raley-Ross's play is very encouraging. If only we could've finished down the stretch.....

NEXT STOP OLD SPICE CLASSIC!!!

[cboom4250]

just got back from the game. i'm definitely not loosing faith in this team. we played hard and hustled on just about every play. the basket seemed to have a lid on it at times. a few calls that shouldn't have happened (both ways), but that changed the game in a lot of ways.

anyway, we must block out better and we have to try to get the ball in the post some...even if it's just to kick it back out. there were a lot of plays where we went down with 30 seconds left on the shot clock and chucked up a three. but, we are going to be strong. one slip isn't going to hurt us. so all of you saying "back to reality" and "here we go again" just wait and see. promise you'll be happy with this team come march.

[morgan n' 7]

We had great looks tonight, just went cold early. Too many wide open missed shots. It happens. Game plan was fine. Team will be fine.

[hardcock2]

Just back from the game as well...it was fun and entertaining. The cold streak we had half way through the first killed us. We had too many easy misses and there were way too many open shots for them all game long. Our guy's were also trying to do too much one on one's which made for some awkward shot attempts. Mayo is the real deal, that dude hit shot after shot although he did have one aiiiiirrbaallll.

I'd say the Colonial Center was about 2/3 full. Upper level was real scattered and several seats (about 2 full sections worth) in the lower level.

[USCSigEp]

I went to the game tonight also....OJ MAYO is the real deal. He is going to make alot of money next season

[gAmkok]

My observations from the game:

We lost - but to a decent team.
We looked tentative at times - not loose.
So Cal was a lot more physical that we were - we got pushed around at times.
Mayo is pretty darn good - the rest of the Trojans' team ain't so bad either.
We didn't rebound very well - got boxed out a lot.
We tried to force some things early and looked sloppy.
We have a lot more scoring threats than last year - many more guys in double figures than before.

This was a "see what we got" game and unfortunately it didn't reveal much - good or bad. We're still in "wait and see" mode. Hopefully we'll be able to tell more from the games to come, though we probably won't find out much until we play UT in Jan.

[carolinafan53186]

We just got back. I don't know about anyone else, but I felt the officials were aweful, and I don't complain about refs. But anyways, Mayo looked like a man among boys out there. He's so quick and so smooth. He could have done a lot better than he did, but he kind of held off it seemed and let everyone else do the dirty work

[cocky talker]

I went to the game and was very happy by the turnout. A few observations...

-The USC student section can get up and rowdy when they want to. It was rocking tonight.

-We don't have as much off the bench as I thought we did.

-Mike Holmes was playing well but for some reason was taken out. I dont' understand why, but I don't think he played at all in the second half.

-O.J. Mayo is good, but he has the dirtiest, most disgusting mustache this side of Ron Jeremy.

-Their players committed the cardinal rule of reacting to the crowd by acknowledging all of the students when they were taunting them. There were a few players that looked over and gave a reaction to some of the people that were yelling and I wonder if we are going to have a Ron Artest incident with them later this year. I kind of hope so, because O.J. Mayo is already one of my most hated players because of his thuggishness.

-All in all, we really didn't play that badly. We didn't shoot well and the refs were bad, but we didn't play well enough to win. The 10-point margin is misleading.

[CockyChrisCox]

to the guy that said we aren't at the point where we can get players like Mayo...

southern cal isn't either. they didn't even RECRUIT mayo.

basically, he wanted to spend a year in beautiful LA and check out the ladies before he went pro.

he CALLED tim floyd and said, "hey i'm coming down there to play."

[CockyChrisCox]

oh and to the guy who said the officiating sucked.

we sportswriters were killin ourselves b/c we couldn't figure out where we recognized the old white ref from. then we remembered.

he's the one that had the incident with bob knight all those years ago. his last name is valentine.

[Singaporecock]

let the excuses and rationalization continute to roll

[foezopen]

OJ MAYO is the real deal. He is going to make alot of money next season



Hell he plays for Southern Cal....he is probably makin ALOT of money now!!!!I am sure that the funds flow freely in basketball as well as football on the West Coast!!!!!!

[Forkcock]

Is it against the law to Cheer loud at The Colonial Center?

[willy]

We just faced a better team tonight, it has nothing to do with money or anything else, so quit looking for excuses.

[gococks3111]

I don't know what anyone else feels, but devan downey didn't push the ball last night. sure, socal was quick too but we are not as good of a half court team.. our half court offense consists of one guy making a move and throwing up a shot. when devan pushes the ball or penetrates and kicks we get open looks and they proved in the first 2 games that they could knock those shots down. i just dont think we played gamecock basketball last night.

[CoverTwo]

We desperately need an inside game..Too much perimeter passing..I know Dave is working with what he has, but we arent going to get too far without someone that can establish position on the post...The most frustrating thing was when Holmes or Muldrow actually got in the post and were calling for the ball, the guards never made the entry pass..But all that should be corrected by experience and development of some continuity.

They are still a very fun group to watch, and should be just fine if they can stay healthy.

[Gamerooster]

I think the thing that hurt us the most was the cold streak we had in the first half. For this team to win games this year we must shoot well and we didn't. So Cal cut off Downey's drives, as I expect most good teams to do, but still he can make plays by finding the open guy and he did that pretty well but we missed way too many. I hope we were thrown off by the way they played defense and will be able to shoot much better when we play another quality team. We need more scoring from Holmes. When he gets the ball down low he needs to go strong to the basket. If he had made a few, it could have been a different game.

[superstar90]

We just need to make sure that when you get an uncontested shot make it. I'm talking just dunks and layups. We had 7-10 shots last night that should be easy. Probably 85% should be made, and we made 1 or 2 of them. Correct that and just try to keep the game up tempo. Whatever happens from there oh well.

[LtSmokes1]

Yeah, it was horrible in the paint missing every layup, and then Downey just running into the whole so cal team and just throwing the ball up in the air. And he was criticizing the teams shot selections? wow.

[CoverTwo]

I'm pretty sure he was criticizing himself too..He was trying to draw some fouls and get to the free throw line..I dont have a problem with some of his shots in the lane..We havent had a guard that can get to the line consistently since BJ McKie, but Fredrick & Downey should change that.

[CockyChrisCox]

i said it before and i'll say it again....when we face big teams we'll struggle.

they know it. we know it. everybody knows it.

[Gyle41386]

And Hackett. He's a very good player.

And he ended up with a triple double. :thumbs:

[CockySpurrier85]

It's one loss and that is a darn good team that was a sweet sixteen team last season that got better. We only got out rebounded by one to a bigger team and we had more blocks. We had the talent to beat them but we got very timid for some reason. We played tight almost the entire night and couldn't put away easy shots. I still have great expectations for this team.

[Go Cocks]

It's one loss and that is a darn good team that was a sweet sixteen team last season that got better. We only got out rebounded by one to a bigger team and we had more blocks. We had the talent to beat them but we got very timid for some reason. We played tight almost the entire night and couldn't put away easy shots. I still have great expectations for this team.

I hope you're right. I haven't logged on all weekend because I was so bummed and you won't meet a bigger basketball fan than me. So Cal is one good team and having Hackett made a huge difference. Archie sitting for 10 minutes of the first half is what killed us. Going into the 2nd half down 10 made it difficult to get back into it. I could've strangled Day for fouling his man with 5 sec. left on the shot clock! Good grief, Dwayne you're a senior. Don't foul when the shot clock is winding down. There's no excuse for that play.

[brat]

A team of our size has to win by hitting outside shots. That is not going to happen every game. Without an inside presence with which to score and to help control the boards, it will be difficult to win against the better teams. The lack of height, inside, causes intimidation of those inside shots, so ones that would seem easy, are made more difficult due to more height on the other team. An inside game opens the outside game and vice versa. Athleticism, alone, can carry you only so far.

Southern Cal may have been bigger then us, but marginally so. We have little height and what we do has been a non factor and will be difficult to depend upon for much help.

I expect most of our games, against better teams, to be more competitive than last season, but few, if any breathers in the mix. Any win will be of the tooth and nail variety.