Free fall continues

COLUMBIA -- From the NCAA bubble to the NIT bubble in three weeks. The precipitous fall of South Carolina's basketball team continues.

Every time the Gamecocks ask themselves if they've reached the bottom, another little bit is drilled to create a deeper hole.

Mississippi State pushed South Carolina even lower Saturday, shoving the Gamecocks to a fifth-consecutive defeat in a 76-63 affair inside Colonial Life Arena before about 10,000 fans.

The league's most imposing big man, Jarvis Varnado, led Mississippi State with 19. Hot-shooting guard Barry Stewart added 18.

There was no landmark quote from USC's side -- only blank looks and stabs at determination for Wednesday's Senior Night against Alabama.

"They've got a decision about how they want to finish here at home and how they want to go out," Gamecocks coach Darrin Horn said of the team's seniors, including All-SEC performer Devan Downey.

USC had five players in double figures, but its catalyst, Downey, had a mere 12. That set an SEC-low for a player that singed the league in the month of January at a 30-points-a-game clip.

Riding the monumental upset of No. 1 Kentucky, and home wins against Georgia and Florida, the Gamecocks were 14-9 and 5-4 on Feb. 13 as they traveled to winnable games at Arkansas and Georgia.

South Carolina hasn't won since. The Gamecocks (14-14, 5-9) are now in real danger of ending their season at the SEC Tournament in a week and a half.

The NIT will not want a team below .500. The CBI (or another third-tier tourney) might, but the program would have to seriously weigh whether that would be beneficial for its progress.

Once USC's calling card, even in this season, the Gamecocks are now 4-3 in SEC home games. They were 7-1 here a year ago in conference play.

Losing Dominique Archie (injury) and Mike Holmes (dismissal) no doubt handicapped the team, but Horn said there are no excuses.

He says that's the case Wednesday when Alabama comes in for the seniors' final game here. Both teams are hovering at or near .500 with five SEC wins.

"We're playing for pride," Downey said. "This is just about pride."

Mississippi State, on the other hand, is in an entirely different place.

The Bulldogs (21-8, 9-5) locked up the SEC West title and the division's No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. They also moved one step closer to nailing down an NCAA bid.

They have done with without some key reserves, as well as highly rated high school prospect Renardo Sidney. Sidney has been entangled in an academic mess the entire season.

"This ain't the team that was picked to win it," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "They deserve all the credit. It's remarkable."

Earlier in the week, Varnado set the NCAA record for most blocked shots in a career.

Varnado wasn't the only record-setting Bulldog this week, however. In the same game in which Varnado became college basketball's swat sultan, Stewart set the school record for most made 3-pointers in a career.

It was that fact Saturday that played heavily into the outcome. Varnado had only one block, and his presence on defense wasn't shut-down imposing.

Stewart, though, came out on fire from long range. He was 4-of-6 on 3-point shots in the first half and added another in the second.

It was Stewart, and not Varnado, who got the postgame interview to conclude ESPN's telecast.

By contrast, South Carolina made seven of its 28 3-point tries. Downey missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.

Downey had one brief barrage late in the first half, cutting Mississippi State's lead to 29-24 with five consecutive points in an 8-0 USC run. But he was doing that in the first half, not the second as many have become accustomed.

Stansbury thought his team's hot shooting lent confidence to its defense, and particularly the number it did on Downey.

"We never let Carolina get on one of those spurts," Stansbury said. "We never let Downey take over the game like I've seen him do."

The win-loss column is bleak for the Gamecocks. No way around that.

However, freshmen Ramon Galloway and Lakeem Jackson were bright spots Saturday, as was junior post Sam Muldrow.

Muldrow, often going against Varnado, had a team-high 15 points (6-of-12 shooting). Galloway managed 14 points and didn't turn the ball over in 30 minutes.

Jackson picked up where he left off in the second half at Kentucky, showing more aggressiveness on the offense end in a 10-point night (5-for-9 shooting) that also included no turnovers.

With the younger guys playing well, and Mississippi State employing a smaller lineup beyond Varnado, neither Evka Baniulis nor Austin Steed played a single second.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com, check out the Gamecocks blog at postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks and follow him on Twitter (@gamecocksblog).