Gamecocks to use their upsets as motivation for SEC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- One of the motifs that South Carolina's basketball team typically circles back to is the fact that it can play with and beat anyone in the country.

It was saying that long before the Jan. 26 upset of then-No. 1 Kentucky, but that victory made a theory reality in the Gamecocks' minds.

Splashing in Saturday's surprise win at then-No. 13 Vanderbilt, it's that giant-slayer mentality that USC carries into this Southeastern Conference Tournament.

"We have a better chance than anybody in this conference to make a run to get into the (NCAA) Tournament," USC senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross said. "We all know what we can do. We feel like we can beat anybody in the country."

The Gamecocks say it and say it often. You sense they believe it.

South Carolina first, though, has to play its way into a game against a giant.

USC (15-15) begins tournament play at 1 p.m. today against Alabama (16-14) inside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.

The winner gets 29-2 Kentucky, the league champion and second-ranked team in the country, on Friday in the quarterfinals.

The Wildcats are the prohibitive favorites to win this event for myriad reasons that certainly include the conference's player (John Wall) and freshman (DeMarcus Cousins) of the year.

A lot of blue, too, will be in the stands considering the Bluegrass' proximity to the Music City.

All that said, the team you think will win this tournament simply hasn't in recent years.

Last year, Mississippi State played four games in four days to win its way into the NCAAs.

Georgia went several steps farther the year before that. The Bulldogs, a sub-.500 team entering that tornado-ravaged tournament in Atlanta, astonishingly won four games in three days to stun the league.

"When you get into tournament play, a neutral court, anything's possible," USC point guard Devan Downey said.

So, certainly, crazier things have happened than the promise of USC upsetting its way through Sunday.

"It gives you confidence knowing that," Raley said. "The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds aren't the ones that always win these things. We know as a team we have an opportunity to win four games in a row."

That would have been a borderline preposterous thing to say this past weekend. South Carolina had dropped six consecutive games when it headed to Vanderbilt, plummeting from 5-4 in the SEC to 5-10. Memorial Gym, too, is not exactly the most ideal place to get a road win for a team that had claimed one since the Jan. 9 SEC opener.

Of course, in a moment to defy logic, the Gamecocks stormed from a double-digit second-half deficit to upset the Commodores, the SEC's second-best team, on their home floor.

Horn said it was "probably our best collective game of the year, all things considered."

"Everybody brought to the table what they can bring," Horn said. "When you go through the roster, whether it was a guy who just played a few minutes in a role situation or Devan Downey.

"When we do that, we've showed that we can beat the best teams in this league."

That win, Raley-Ross said, has injected life into the team. He said there's been a noticeably different energy around the Gamecocks since Saturday.

That's carried over to this venue.

Freshman Lakeem Jackson said the victory validated the challenges issued by Horn in some recently difficult practices. The Gamecocks found a reward via that Vanderbilt victory.

"It feels different," said Jackson, who's assumed more of a role in the offense in the past month. "We're taking this one right here as a brand-new season."

The new season will be necessary to help continue the season, period. At .500, USC needs a victory today to be in the NIT discussion.

That would also entail continuing the seniors' careers. That's something on their minds.

"You're playing for your life right now," Raley-Ross said. "This is it, as far as us playing as a unit. You don't want to leave the game on a losing note.

"I know I personally want to leave a positive impression. I'm going to reach into the tank as far as I can."

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