USC Hoops Hosts Baylor In ESPN Marathon

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — South Carolina will host Baylor Tuesday for a mid-day matchup as part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. It marks the second-consecutive season the Gamecocks and Bears meet in the event, as the team’s battled last season in Waco, with Baylor posting a 66-64 victory on its home court. Tuesday’s contest will be broadcast by ESPN with John Saunders and Len Elmore on the call. GAME INFORMATION Game Date: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Broadcast: ESPN Talent: John Saunders (pxp), Len Elmore (analyst) Radio: Gamecock Radio Network Talent: Andy Demetra (pxp), Casey Manning (analyst) Sirius: 84; XM: 84 Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com Tickets: GamecocksOnline.com/Tickets Series: Baylor leads 3-2 Last Meeting: 66-64 Baylor win, Nov. 12, 2013, in Waco, Texas GAME STORYLINES – South Carolina is in its 107th season of varsity basketball in 2014-15. – The Gamecocks are led by third-year head coach Frank Martin. His associate head coach is Matt Figger, his assistant coaches are Perry Clark and Lamont Evans, and his director of operations is Andy Assaley. – South Carolina returns 11 letterwinners from last season’s 14-20 team, including starters, sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, junior forward Michael Carrera, junior forward Mindaguas Kacinas and sophomore forward Demetrius Henry. Senior guard Tyrone Johnson started nine games before being sidelined with an injury as well. – The Gamecocks tipped off their season with a solid 81-56 victory over North Florida on Friday, led by nine different Gamecocks posting at least six points in the win, led Henry and Johnson with 12 points each. The win pushed head coach Frank Martin’s all-time record in season openers to 8-0 for his career. – After Friday’s win over North Florida in the 2014-15 season opener, Carolina owns a 78-29 (.728) all-time record in season lidlifters, including a perfect 10-0 record in the last 10 seasons. The last season-opening loss for the Gamecocks came against the Ohio Valley’s Tennessee Tech during the 2000-01 season, as the Golden Eagles edged the Gamecocks, 73-67. – The Gamecocks return 71.3 percent (1,658/2,323) of their scoring from last season. The biggest void was left by the graduation of senior guard Brenton Williams who tallied 505 points. – South Carolina posted a 92-47 victory over Benedict in the team’s lone exhibition game this season. Johnson led the Gamecocks with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists in the win. Carrera was huge on the boards, collecting 15 rebounds, while junior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius also pulled down double-digit rebounds with 12. Sophomore guard Duane Notice accounted for nine of Carolina’s 23 assists (on 32 made baskets) in the game. SCOUTING BAYLOR Baylor easily defeated McNeese State, 80-39, on Friday in the Bears’ season opener. Newcomer Deng Deng recorded 16 points to lead the team in the win, and senior point guard Kenny Chery dished five assists and collected two steals. The squad, led by head coach Scott Drew in his 12th season, was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12’s Preseason Poll. Baylor returns five letterwinners and two starters from last year’s 26-12 team. Seniors Royce O’Neale and Kenny Chery are back, along with juniors Rico Gathers and Taurean Prince and sophomore Ishmail Wainright. The Bears rebounded from a 2-8 start to Big 12 play last season to win seven of their last eight league games. That run continued in postseason play, with the Bears winning three straight games to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game, and BU went on to win a pair of NCAA Tournament games before falling in the Sweet 16.