In most bracket projections across the country, both the Cats and the Cocks still have work to do to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Carolina’s loss to Mississippi State and their close call against Arkansas last week dropped their stock despite earlier strong road wins at Baylor and at Rupp. The Cats second win against Tennessee was huge but their tough remaining schedule is cause for concern. However, while their tough schedule is cause for concern for some it could also be looked as an opportunity to add three good wins to your resume and improve your seed. No matter how you look at it, a win for either team on Wednesday will go a long way in securing that automatic berth.

If the Cats are looking to reverse their 78-77 loss to the Gamecocks at Rupp just over three weeks ago, they need to dramatically improve their defense of the three and find a way to keep Devan Downey out of the lane. Unfortunately, the Cats have struggled defensively in these aspects all season long. In the loss on January 31, the first half belonged to Zam Frederick who had 16 in the first twenty minutes. In the second half, Frederick and head coach Darrin Horn turned the keys over to their playmaker Devan Downey, who dominated down the stretch before nailing the game-winning turnaway jumper.

Simply put, Kentucky must find a way to limit Downey’s penetration. Yeah, stopping the three is key, but you can not focus on the three and allow Downey to create easy buckets. On Saturday against the Vols you saw Kentucky pack in their man-to-man defense to limit Tennessee’s penetration and dare them to shoot open threes. Expect Billy Gillispie to employ much of the same strategy against South Carolina. But, you have to remember that Downey is better than any penetrator Tennessee has and Frederick and Evaldis Baniulis are more likely to make you pay for open threes.

Horn knew one thing for sure when he took the job at South Carolina and that was that he had a pretty good (really good) floor general in junior Devan Downey (5-9, guard). He is in his second season at Carolina after transferring from Cincy and leads the Gamecocks in scoring, averaging 20.0 points per game. He is one of four South Carolina players who are averaging double figures. On December 30 against Clemson he finished with a career-high 37 and he followed his game-winner against Kentucky by posting 33 and connecting on seven threes in a loss at Florida. He has led the Gamecocks in scoring 20 times this season, including 25 in Carolina’s most recent win over Arkansas. He ranks third in the SEC in scoring. But, he doesn’t just score, he also leads the team with 4.3 assists and 3.0 steals per outing. His 4.3 assists-per-game are good for fourth in the conference and his three steals lead the league. He makes it really tough to play off of him as well as he has knocked down 44 threes on the year and is shooting 38-percent. Downey has all of the tools that a point guard needs: Scoring, Passing, Defense.

Senior Zam Fredrick (6-0, guard) adds 15.3 points and 2.8 rebounds for the Gamecocks and ranks second on the team in scoring. Frederick has connected on 46 three-pointers this season and is shooting 36-percent from distance.

Junior Evaldis Baniulis (6-7, forward) joins Frederick and Downey as the Gamecocks’ best three-point threats. Entering the first UK game he was leading USC in threes made with 33. But, he only made three in his next five games. However, he broke out in their last game against Arkansas going 4-for-7 from deep. He is shooting an impressive 51-percent from deep and 71-percent of his field goals come from behind the arc. When Downey penetrates he is looking for an open Baniulis or Frederick at the wing.

Inside the Cocks are led by sophomore Mike Holmes (6-7, center). He has led the Gamecocks in rebounding all season and has been a constant offensive threat to opposing teams. Holmes averages 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. He has tallied seven double-digit rebounding games this season. For a team that sometimes struggles with the rebound, Holmes is big for them.

Junior Dominique Archie (6-7, forward) and sophomore big man Sam Muldrow (6-9, forward) have been solid in league play for Darrin Horn as well. Archie provides 11.5 points-per-game this season and 6.7 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all but eight games this year. Archie is tall, lanky and athletic and has the ability to get to the rim.

Muldrow is averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in just twelve games played this season. He missed non-conference play with academic issues and an injured elbow.

The Gamecocks are very deep as they have nine guys averaging 15 minutes per game or more, so keep an eye on their bench. Junior Brandis Raley-Ross (6-2, guard) is averaging 6.6 points on the season and has scored in double figures in two the Cocks last three games.

How will Kentucky respond after playing, what many are calling, their best all-around game of the season against Tennessee? They proved they could win, and win handily, even when Jodie Meeks has a bad night. Many did not believe that to be possible.

Are the Vols just that bad or did Kentucky play that well? Will Darius Miller’s ascent continue? Can Jared Carter top his two-point performance? Will Patrick Patterson have another one of these beast dunks?

Kentucky needs this one to continue to ride the momentum they attained on Saturday. I don’t see them having a problem scoring but it will be interesting to see if they can slow down the best offensive attack in the SEC. The Gamecocks are leading the league in scoring with 79.8 points-per-game. If they can slow down South Carolina, which means slowing down Devan Downey, they can and will get out of Columbia with a much-needed, resume-building, road win.