South Carolina at Kentucky -- Statistical comparison

Here is the statistical comparison between South Carolina and Kentucky.

On paper, this is a very even game.  Actually, the Gamecocks look rather better on paper, and have played a tougher schedule to boot.  But the Wildcats are clearly not the same team that lost to Gardner-Webb and San Diego.  This is a team that has apparently found its identity, and that identity is a grind-it-out, defensive team.

We must remember that Perry Stevenson is beginning to emerge as an all-around player, and that matters a lot.  Suddenly, the high-low, a very difficult play to stop, has become deadly.  If the Patterson-Stevenson duo can continue to play in perfect harmony, the Gamecocks may find the Wildcats a little too much for them.  But if UK doesn't bring it's "A" game, South Carolina has more than enough horses to run us into the ground.  Don't be fooled by their pedestrian record -- this team is capable, as the Gators nearly found out earlier this week.

The things that jumps out at me in this set of stats is the disparity in 3-point shooting, and how good USC is from the charity stripe.  We give up more fouls than any other team in the SEC, and that is not a good thing against the Gamecocks, because unlike the Vols, they deliver at the line.  A 6% difference in 3-point shooting is also a very big concern, but we will look into how to handle that in the adversary analysis, which will be forthcoming tomorrow morning before the game.  For more on the Gamecocks, please be sure to visit our SBNation brothers at Garnet and Black Attack.

Thanks again to Statsheet.com and Basketball State for the statistical data.

Stat	All Games		Conference Games
	SC	UK	SC	UK	Delta (adjusted for games played for all games)	Comments
Total Games	18	17	4	4	1
Wins	9	8	1	2	1
Losses	9	9	3	2	0
Pct	0.5	0.47	0.25	0.5	0.03
Field Goals Made	510	426	101	94	58.94
Field Goals Attempted	1132	910	233	221	168.47
Field Goal Percentage	0.45	0.47	0.43	0.43	-0.02	Small advantage to UK.
Free Throws Made	195	270	34	75	-90.88
Free Throws Attempted	272	351	52	94	-99.65
Free Throw Percentage	0.72	0.77	0.65	0.8	-0.05	SC is a good FT shooting team.
3pt Field Goals Made	146	104	34	22	35.88
3pt Field Goals Attempted	361	299	94	73	44.41
3pt Field Goal Percentage	0.4	0.35	0.36	0.3	0.06	No surprise here.
Points	1361	1226	270	285	62.88
Points Per Game	75.6	72.1	67.5	71.3	3.5	Almost a push
Rebounds	709	637	135	165	34.53
Rebounds Per Game	39.4	37.5	33.8	41.3	1.9	Can you believe they get more per game than us?
Offensive Rebounds	216	181	43	52	24.35
Offensive Rebounds Per Game	12	10.6	10.8	13	1.4	Ditto
Defensive Rebounds	426	417	77	99	-15.53
Defensive Rebounds Per Game	23.7	24.5	19.3	24.8	-0.8	Call this even
Assists	249	233	46	51	16
Assists Per Game	13.8	13.7	11.5	12.8	0.1	This is even, too.
Steals	138	129	32	30	9
Steals Per Game	7.7	7.6	8	7.5	0.1	Even again
Turnovers	204	286	50	60	-82
Turnovers Per Game	11.3	16.8	12.5	15	-5.5	Yech. They handle the ball well.
Blocks	78	79	16	19	-1
Blocks Per Game	4.3	4.6	4	4.8	-0.3	The barest of advantage.
Fouls	293	358	70	89	-65
Fouls Per Game	16.3	21.1	17.5	22.3	-4.8	Not the best thing to win.
Disqualifications	5	13	2	4	-8

Enjoy your Friday.  Tomorrow is game day!