USC basketball opens SEC play with blowout loss at Mississippi State: 3 observations

South Carolina’s Southeastern Conference opener quickly turned into a nightmare in Starkville, Mississippi, as it fell to No. 17 Mississippi State 85-50 on Saturday.

The Gamecocks stumbled out of the gate and couldn’t find a groove on offense, starting 2 of 13 from the field, which led to an early 21-4 Mississippi State lead.

Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 SEC) continued to control the half, went into halftime on a 10-0 run and with a 43-18 lead.

“(Mississippi State) came out with a purpose,” USC head coach Lamont Paris said in a post-game radio interview with 107.5. “I thought they were really competitive and aggressive. ... They outplayed us in most facets of the game.”

Not much changed for the Gamecocks in the second half, as they missed their first five shots. But they started to find some offensive success, making six straight shots at one point.

Then, USC’s offensive struggles returned when they missed six straight shots, which led to a 14-3 Mississippi State run.

“We can’t keep falling behind in the first 5-10 minutes of the game,” junior Zach Davis said. “ Every game is not going to be a comeback game.”

Davis scored a career-high 22 points and was a bright spot for the Gamecocks. Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles had five points and 10 rebounds on 2-of-9 shooting.

Mississippi State’s 35-point win over USC is its largest over the Gamecocks in program history. The Gamecocks never led in the loss.

South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) will play its SEC home opener against No. 5 Alabama on Wednesday.

Here are three observations from South Carolina’s game against Mississippi State:

All eyes on Murray-Boyles

Murray-Boyles entered the game as South Carolina’s leading scorer, but Mississippi State smothered him at every turn on Saturday.

In the first half, Murray-Boyles struggled to even touch the ball, with only 19 touches total — and seven of those came in the final four minutes of the half. His halftime stat line told the story: three points on 1-of-5 shooting and five turnovers. Three of his turnovers on the afternoon came on double teams.

“I just think he didn’t play very well,” Paris said. “We need him to create offense for us. So that means, get the ball in your hands. There are going to be a couple guys around you, and you gotta make a play. He just didn’t have it.”

When USC managed to get Murray-Boyles involved, the offense finally found a little rhythm. His presence drew so much attention that it created opportunities elsewhere, like a sharp backdoor cut by Morris Ugusuk for an easy bucket.

A pair of 3-pointers — one from Murray-Boyles and another from Davis — gave the Gamecocks brief moments of life in the latter portion of the first half, but it didn’t result in any sustained momentum. Those would be the only made 3-pointers by USC, as it finished 2 of 19 from deep.

Offensive woes

In the first half, the Gamecocks went ice-cold for a brutal six-minute stretch without a single point. Seven straight misses were finally snapped by a Cam Scott dunk, courtesy of a slick assist from Nick Pringle. But by then, Mississippi State had already ripped off a 13-0 run.

South Carolina has relied on its inside game all season, but the Bulldogs shut down the paint, outscoring USC 26-8 in the first half and 50-24 overall. The Gamecocks didn’t help their cause, going just 2 of 8 on layups in the first half.

Mississippi State’s defense turned the paint into a no-fly zone, and the Gamecocks had no answers. USC finished shooting a season-low 29% from the field.

Turnovers galore

Mississippi State turned South Carolina’s 10 first-half turnovers into a 13-2 advantage in points off mistakes before the break. That’s a tough number to overcome, especially when the Bulldogs’ relentless pressure forced everything from rushed passes to shot-clock violations.

The Gamecocks finished with 14 turnovers on 69 possessions (20.3%).

Next four games

• Wednesday: vs Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 11: vs Auburn, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 15: at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)

• Jan. 18: at Oklahoma, 4 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)