Gamecocks want giant turnaround

ATLANTA — Most basketball coaches say it’s hard to beat a good team three times.

But what about a mediocre one?

That answer will come this afternoon in the Georgia Dome, as Tennessee plays South Carolina in a 1 p.m. Southeastern Conference quarterfinal.

Fourth-ranked UT will play its first game in decades as the tournament’s overwhelming favorite against a team the Volunteers overwhelmed in the regular season.

Tennessee (28-3) swept the Gamecocks (14-17) with authority, taking two games by a total of 57 points. The Vols won 80-56 at South Carolina on Jan. 12 and beat the Gamecocks 89-56 in Knoxville last Sunday.

“I’m a competitor, and let’s be honest, they kind of embarrassed us twice,” South Carolina guard point guard Devan Downey said. “Like I told my guys, if you can’t get up for a team that beat you 20-something and 30-something, you don’t need to be playing this game.”

Added Gamecocks guard Zam Fredrick: “We got blitzed. We got beat bad. We feel like people gave up. ... We should be ready for this one.”

UT coach Bruce Pearl and his assistants sat courtside for most of the South Carolina’s 77-73 win over LSU on Thursday, leaving late in the second half for a 3 p.m. practice at nearby Georgia State.

Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer to trim LSU’s deficit to 76-73 with 19.8 seconds left, and Dwayne Day missed two free throws to give the Tigers a shot to force overtime — but Marcus Thornton’s 3 missed and Frederick hit a foul shot with 3.1 seconds left to seal it.

“It was a complete effort, for the most part,” Fredrick said. “But I hope it was just the start of a big weekend.”

Considering the Gamecocks would have to win this tournament just to even their record, any loss likely ends coach Dave Odom’s South Carolina career (though the inaugural College Basketball Invitational would still be possible).

Tennessee swept South Carolina in the regular season two years ago before falling to the Gamecocks as the Eastern Division’s top seed in an SEC tournament quarterfinal. Pearl was in his first year at UT, and Odom was the head man at South Carolina. That’s about where any parallel to today stops, though, according to Odom.

“Everything is different,” Odom said. “Their team is much better. Ours is not. We’re not as good.

“Tennessee is the overwhelming favorite to win this tournament. They have proven over the course of the conference season to be the best team. They have played ... maybe the best schedule in the country. They are expertly coached, and they have good depth. They hurt you at every position, and they play confident.”

UT senior JaJuan Smith, perhaps the SEC’s best perimeter defender, could be South Carolina’s biggest problem today — he’s played that role before. Everything the Gamecocks do starts with Downey, whom Smith held to two points in 34 minutes Sunday.

Downey acknowledged that Smith is “a great defender,” calling him so quick that he could gamble for steals and “still recover to keep just about anyone from getting by him.”

But Downey also reminded reporters that he had eight assists in Sunday’s first half.

“You don’t have to score a lot of points to have a great game,” Downeysaid. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to help my team win.”

South Carolina played some 1-3-1 zone defense Thursday for the first time this season, but as Odom said, “it won’t be a secret” today.

“Unless we go back in the hotel and put something else in, they’ve seen everything we’ve done,” Odom added.

Downey said South Carolina hoped to surprise the Vols, but not with scheme.

“It’s not really that hard,” Downey said. “We’ve just got to go out and compete and match their intensity.”

Fredrick said the Gamecocks “had as much talent as anybody in the league, but Tennessee’s got the right attitude.

“We’ve won the NIT a couple of times, but everybody wants to make the NCAA tournament,” Fredrick said. “Just getting that tradition, that pride where you really care about your program, that attitude that will take you over the edge.

“Tennessee’s the top team in the conference. They’ve got all the scorers, all the depth. It’s going to be a difficult task out there, but we feel like we’re going to step up to the plate.”