Gamecocks try to avoid letdown

COLUMBIA -- Logically, you'd think South Carolina would be due a horrific hangover after taking down No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday night.

The Gamecocks have a different take on that.

Yeah, that kind of a win is enough to send you skyward. But here's gravity for the team, to return it to the turf: South Carolina is 12-8 overall, 3-3 in the SEC.

Hardly the time to boast, right?

The thought made national- darling-of-the-moment Devan Downey laugh.

"We're 3-3 in the league," said Downey, the point guard who poured in 30 against the Wildcats and has averaged a staggering 31 a game in SEC play. "We're trying to get over .500. It's not going to be that hard (to stay focused).

"Y'all know coach (Darrin) Horn. He's not going to let that happen."

South Carolina hosts Georgia at 6 p.m. today. Horn was hopeful of another sellout of Colonial Life Arena.

The Bulldogs' record -- 9-9 overall, 1-4 in SEC play -- is far from daunting, but USC and the rest of the SEC knows better than to take Georgia lightly.

The Bulldogs are hanging with everyone. And that one league win, a beatdown of Tennessee a week ago, was highly impressive.

Big man Trey Thompkins (17.3 points a game) and slashing guard Travis Leslie (13.8) complement one another well. And they're both sophomores.

So putting that Kentucky win to bed won't be all that difficult.

"I'm going to remember it, but that's not to say I'm satisfied with the year," Downey said. "We still want to finish strong and achieve the goals you set for this team."

The goal coming into the year was to be an NCAA Tournament team.

Public perception and expectation changed with the losses of Dominique Archie and Mike Holmes.

The team's feelings didn't change, though.

"We've always believed we're a good ball team," Downey said.

It would take something like a 7-3 finish, plus a solid showing in the SEC Tournament, to even become a bubble team with a case.

The team that played Tuesday night, though, could make some noise.

What the Gamecocks demonstrated for the college basketball world, and to themselves, was how they need to play for the duration of the season. It was the blueprint.

Down two starters or no, Horn has stressed the importance of scrapping for rebounds and getting contributions from players not named Downey.

Kentucky might not have been at its best, but South Carolina had to make the hustle plays to win the game.

The Gamecocks outrebounded the Wildcats, probably the tallest, longest rebounders they'll see all year, by four. They retrieved 20 offensive rebounds that turned into 11 baskets.

All down the roster there were vital contributions being made.

From Brandis Raley-Ross' 17 points. To Austin Steed's crucial block of John Wall in the final minutes. To Sam Muldrow's five blocks, including a demonstrative one of DeMarcus Cousins. To Stephen Spinella's fairly decent defense of Wall.

That's what Horn had been waiting for. That's what he says the team has to have to compete.

"That collective effort from everybody else was the key to the game," Horn said.

Well, that and Downey.

Additionally, look for Horn to tweak the game plan depending on the opponent.

South Carolina didn't want to run with Kentucky, but it might try tonight against the Bulldogs.

Horn has talked about the last five halves for South Carolina -- the second half at Ole Miss and the Florida and Kentucky games -- as the watershed moments in improvement and establishing an identity.

The Gamecocks will have another shot to step forward tonight. After all, a loss tonight essentially negates what they did earlier in the week, as impressive and symbolic as it was.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the South Carolina blog at www.postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks.

WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m./Colonial Life Arena, Columbia

TV: Fox Sports Net

RADIO: WTMA 1250-AM

Line: South Carolina by 7 1/2

South Carolina (12-8, 3-3 Southeastern)

HEAD COACH: Darrin Horn (33-18 in second year at South Carolina)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Devan Downey, 5-9, sr. (22.4 ppg, 3.6 apg); G Brandis Raley-Ross, 6-1, sr. (10.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg); F Sam Muldrow, 6-9, jr. (9.2 ppg, 3.4 bpg)

NOTES: The Gamecocks' bench is averaging 18.8 points a game. ... JUCO transfer Johndre Jefferson tied his career high Tuesday with eight rebounds. ... South Carolina makes an average of seven 3-pointers a game.

Georgia (9-9, 1-4 Southeastern)

HEAD COACH: Mark Fox (9-9 in first year at Georgia)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Ricky McPhee, 6-1, sr. (10.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg); G Travis Leslie, 6-4, so. (13.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg); F Trey Thompkins, 6-10, so. (17.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg)

NOTES: Georgia has played tough, despite its record. It had narrow losses at Kentucky and Mississippi State. ... South Carolina swept the Bulldogs last year. ... First-year coach Mark Fox came from Nevada. ... Georgia has played the seventh-hardest schedule in the country.