The South Carolina Gamecocks (10-0) play the St. John’s Red Storm (7-5) at Mohegan Sun Arena. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 22 and will air on CCS.
The Gamecocks defeated Clemson 65-59 on Friday. Michael Carrera was the team’s leading scorer with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting. The Red Storm, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 83-74 loss at the hands of NJIT on Sunday. Yankuba Sima accounted for six points, 14 rebounds, and three steals.
The ineffective offense of the Red Storm (290th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 97.6) will attempt to infiltrate the stingy defense of the Gamecocks (21st in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 90.9). The matchup on that end of the floor seems to lean toward South Carolina.
South Carolina is a considerable 13-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 141 points. The Gamecocks enter the game with records of 10-0 Straight Up (SU) and 7-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Gamecocks are an incredibly accurate shooting team from three-point range with a .399 three-point field goal percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Expect to see a lot of second-chance opportunities for South Carolina in this matchup, which is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 13.5 offensive boards per game. South Carolina’s defense can be considered one of the best in the country. The Gamecocks allow a .380 opponent field-goal percentage, one of the lowest shooting rates in the country.
Over on the other bench, St. John’s has a SU record of 7-5 and an ATS record of 3-8. They average 6.6 blocks per game, good for sixth in the nation.
Predictions: SU Winner – SC, ATS Winner – SC, O/U – Over
Notes
South Carolina averages 81.4 points per game (ranked 52nd). St. John’s, on the other hand, allows 69.8 points per game (ranked 151st).
South Carolina scores 83.2 points per home game (ranked 97th). St. John’s ranks a poor 321st in points allowed on the road, allowing 85.2 points.
The South Carolina Gamecocks have a defensive rating of 90.9 (ranked 21st), while the St. John’s Red Storm have an offensive rating of 97.6 (ranked 290th).
The St. John’s Red Storm average a field goal percentage of 41.5% this season. The South Carolina Gamecocks are a perfect 3-0 in games where opponents have a FG% of 41.5% or greater.
The South Carolina Gamecocks average 16.0 three point attempts per game, and the St. John’s Red Storm attempt 19.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, South Carolina is a perfect 3-0, while St. John’s also has a winning record (3-1).
South Carolina ranks 39th in rebounds per game with 41.7 and St. John’s ranks 92nd with 39.2 rebounds per game.
St. John’s ranks 171st in offensive rebounds, while South Carolina ranks at 57th in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 17.8% when playing St. John’s this season. South Carolina is undefeated this season (5-0) when its TO% is 17.8% or higher.
