The two biggest schools in South Carolina are set to square off in the basketball version of the Palmetto Series on Tuesday night as South Carolina and Clemson look to continue their successes in the non-conference slate.
The Gamecocks hold the overall series lead, 90-77, but the Tigers have the recent success advantage, winning last year’s matchup 62-60 in Columbia.
South Carolina is off to an 8-2 start under sixth-year head coach Frank Martin, with wins over Wofford, Western Michigan (twice), Florida International, Massachusetts, Wyoming, and Coastal Carolina. The Gamecocks’ two losses are to Illinois State and Temple.
Clemson, under eighth-year head coach Brad Brownell, has jumped out to a 9-1 record, which is the best mark for the Tigers in their first 10 games since the 2008-2009 season, when the Tigers started 16-0.
They have wins over the likes of Western Carolina, North Carolina A&T, Ohio, Hofstra, Texas Southern, Ohio State, UNC-Asheville, Samford, and Florida, and their lone loss was to Temple.
Let’s take a look at the players to watch, the keys to victory, and a score prediction for the latest installment of the Palmetto Series.
Players to Watch
Elijah Thomas (Clemson)
The Tigers’ leading rebounder and shot blocker, Thomas is going to be matched up against the Gamecocks’ Chris Silva, so his impact in the post will be very important for the Tigers’ success.
A Texas A&M transfer, Thomas has the size at 6-9 and 251 pounds to match up with most post players, and he’ll need to be able to slow down Silva in the post, as well as provide defensive help as a weak-side shot blocker.
On the offensive end, Thomas is no slouch, averaging 11.3 points, good for fifth on the team, and scores mostly on pick and roll finishes and simple post moves.
Thomas’ impact for the Tigers defensively will be very important in this matchup against one of the top big men in the SEC.
Hassani Gravett (South Carolina)
The Gamecocks lost a lot from the guard position from last season, with the graduations of Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice, as well as PJ Dozier declaring for the NBA Draft and Rakym Felder being indefinitely suspended following an offseason arrest.
Finding a replacement for all of that production has been difficult for the Gamecocks, but Gravett has taken that opportunity for more minutes by the horns, increasing his point output by around six points per game to 9.1, while leading the Gamecocks in assists at 4.3 per game.
His ball-handling skills are important for the Gamecocks to have an efficient offense, and his assist rate is quite high for a lead guard, where 31.2 percent of possessions end with a Gravett assist.
That high assist rate and modest turnover rate (16.8 percent) have been very important to his development and will be important to the Gamecocks’ success in this rivalry matchup.
How Clemson Can Win
The Tigers need to slow down Silva down low if they want to win this game. Silva is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Gamecocks, and his impact has been felt this season on both ends of the floor.
He has the sixth-lowest defensive rating of any player in the SEC, and has the 11th-highest net rating (points per 100 possessions scored while on court minus points per 100 possessions allowed while on court) in the conference.
Those metrics show that Silva is a force while he’s on the floor, so the efforts of Elijah Thomas and Donald Grantham down in trying to slow him down will be very important to the Tigers’ success in this game.
How South Carolina Can Win
The Gamecocks will need to play at their own pace and not let the Tigers dictate the tempo of the game.
Clemson is in the bottom 100 teams in amount of possessions per game, while the Gamecocks are in the top 100, so that difference in speed will be very important for South Carolina to dictate.
If the game is played in the half-court, the Tigers benefit from the efficient shooting of Grantham, who is sixth in the NCAA in two-point field goal percentage.
If the Gamecocks can play an up and down game with the Tigers, look for the Gamecocks to be extremely efficient offensively with the shooting of Frank Booker and Justin Minaya.
Prediction
These two teams are very evenly matched across the board, both offensively and defensively.
Silva is a special player for the Gamecocks, and he will get his production in one way or another.
But with the Tigers being undefeated at home and coming off of a big win against Florida, look for them to win this game in a close one behind the play of Grantham and Thomas.
Prediction: Clemson 71, South Carolina 65