Gamecocks Regroup For High Point In NIT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — The South Carolina men’s basketball team will host eighth-seeded High Point (21-10) on Tuesday in the opening round of the 2016 National Invitation Tournament at Colonial Life Arena. Tuesday’s matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU and will tip at 7 p.m. ET. South Carolina’s appearance in the NIT marks the Gamecocks’ first postseason appearance since the 2008-09 campaign. The Gamecocks have earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT after posting a 24-8 record this season, with those 24 wins setting a regular-season record for victories. Carolina will look to match the school record for wins in a season on Tuesday versus the Panthers. The winner of the Carolina versus High Point matchup will face the winner of No. 4 seed Georgia Tech versus fifth-seeded Houston.

GAMECOCK QUICK HITS

– South Carolina is in its 108th season of varsity basketball in 2015-16.
– Carolina is led by fourth-year head coach Frank Martin. Alongside him are associate head coach Matt Figger, assistant coaches Perry Clark and Lamont Evans and director of men’s hoops operations, Andy Assaley.
– South Carolina is 15-2 in home games this season, averaging 79.8 points per game in those contests.
– The Gamecocks received votes or were ranked for 15 weeks in the USA Today Coaches Poll, rising to as high as 15th, and for a total of 14 weeks in the AP poll, rising to as high as 19th, this season.
– Frank Martin led teams are 7-5 all-time in postseason competition, including a 1-1 mark in NIT games.
– South Carolina is 65th in the most recent NCAA RPI (March 14), and the Gamecocks are 8-5 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI.
– The Gamecocks concluded their 25th season of competition in the Southeastern Conference in 2016 with an 11-7 record. Carolina owns a 155-253 (.379) all-time record in SEC play.
– Frank Martin owns a 76-78 (.493) all-time record in conference games. The 11 SEC wins in 2016 match the highest conference wins for a team under the direction of Martin, as his 2009-10 Kansas State squad also won 11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
– South Carolina’s 15 home wins this season marked the most since the 2008-09 squad went 16-3 at Colonial Life Arena.
– South Carolina opened the 2015-16 season with a perfect 15-0 record, which was the best start to a season since the 1933-34 campaign when Carolina began the season 17-0.

GAMECOCKS IN THE NIT

South Carolina’s appearance in the NIT is its 12th all-time, and the first since 2009. South Carolina owns an all-time record of 21-9 in the NIT and has won the event twice (2005, 2006) and finished as the tournament’s runner-up in 2002.

SCOUTING HIGH POINT

– High Point enters NIT action as an eight seed with a 21-10 overall record this season, which inludes a 13-5 mark in league games.
– High Point claimed a share of the 2015-16 Big South regular-season title and became one of just three programs ever to win four-straight Big South regular-season championships this season.
– Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, HPU leads the Big South in league wins with 50.
– Redshirt-senior John Brown was named the Big South Player and Big South Defensive Player of the Year this season.
– Senior Adam Weary earned second team All-Big South honors after posting 12.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and shooting 51.3 percent on the year.
– Brown (foot) and Weary (knee) are both out for the upcoming NIT.
– The Panthers rank seventh in the country in turnover margin this season (4.1) and rank in the top 25 in free throw percentage (10th, 76.4%), assist turnover ratio (22nd, 1.45), fewest turnovers (17th, 331), field goal percentage (21st, 48.1%) and steals per game (17th, 8.1).
– The Panthers are 1-3 all-time in the postseason, including an 0-1 mark in the NIT.
– The Panthers are led by former Gamecock assistant, Scott Cherry, in his seventh season.