Frank Martin of USC is hoping not to get tripped up by the Tigers (photo/Sportstalksc.com)

Frank Martin of USC is hoping not to get tripped up by the Tigers (photo/Sportstalksc.com)

The 14th-seeded Missouri Tigers play 11th-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament’s second game, tipping off at approx. 8:30 p.m. CT.  Mizzou at 9-22 overall is hoping to get at least one win out of this tournament.  Mizzou hung close with USC at Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 10, after losing guard Wes Clark to an arm injury halfway through the second half.

The Gamecocks have played some solid basketball in the second half of their SEC schedule and Frank Martin has them competing.  They’ve won two of their last three including a 60-49 win over Tennessee and 81-68 over Mississippi State.  In between those wins, was a four point loss at home to Arkansas where USC was down 21 and then went up 11 with six minutes to play.

Kevin McCrarey from SportsTalkSC.com tells me if Missouri wants to live another day, they need to play zone defense and force USC to beat the Tigers with outside shooting.  Easier said than done, when I expect the Gamecocks to try to work the ball inside to their bigger guys against a weaker and smaller Missouri team.

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