In a jumbled SEC, the Gamecocks might have ‘the difference maker’ to separate
Approaching the midway point of the SEC season, South Carolina is a game back of second place in the league standings. The Gamecocks are also a game ahead of seventh place.
At the moment, the top seems secure — LSU is 8-0 with a showdown with Auburn (6-2) looming — and the bottom feels like a place where Vanderbilt (0-8) will stay. But in between, there’s unpredictability at every spot.
Carolina (5-3) is tied with Mississippi State and Florida for fourth in the SEC. The Gamecocks, Bulldogs and Gators are on the heels of Auburn and Kentucky (6-2) while sitting just above a quartet of 4-4 teams — Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
USC has earned a double-bye and a top-4 seed in the SEC Tournament three of the past four years. Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin believes the Gamecocks have potential to do it again. He said so Saturday after witnessing, arguably, the best game in Maik Kotsar’s Carolina career.
“Kotsar,” Martin said following USC’s 76-54 rout of Mizzou at Colonial Life Arena, “if he’s able to have production as a big, to move the ball, to be able to do the things they need to do defensively, then they’re as good as any team. Of course you want guards who can make plays and make shots and all that, but I think he’s the difference maker with his experience, his physicality, but also his ability to put the ball on the floor.”
Jermaine Couisnard and A.J. Lawson were those guards making plays and shots Saturday. USC’s starting backcourt combined for 28 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. They made for the game’s top highlight, a near-halfcourt alley-oop late in the second half.
But it’s Kotsar who received a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,678 when he was subbed out for the last time with 4:37 left.
The senior big man scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, had four blocks and a steal.
“I thought Kotsar was really the big difference because he puts a lot of pressure on your defense when he’s making shots and he’s making plays,” Martin said. “And I thought on the defensive side of the ball, he did a good job of helping. And when he helps like that, we have to make him pay.
“We didn’t make him pay consistently. He was able to help and not really worry about his man.”
During Monday’s news conference ahead of Wednesday’s game at Arkansas, USC coach Frank Martin made note of the 2019 Razorbacks matchup and how Kotsar was on the wrong end of a vicious Jalen Harris dunk and then added, “Maybe he can dunk on him again. Maik’s taken a nap for the last three games.”
Inconsistency has been a major part of Kotsar’s reputation. A promising freshman on the Final Four team, Kotsar’s next two seasons were underwhelming. After a memorable 25-point performance in an upset of Mississippi State in early January, Kotsar only scored in double figures once the rest of his junior year. He was a 44% free throw shooter, a sign of wavering confidence.
So when Kotsar’s solid senior season took a mini-dip — a combined 14 points on 7 of 23 shooting against Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn and Vanderbilt — his coach pressed for a response.
Kotsar delivered with 10 points and nine boards in the Arkansas win and followed Saturday with what Frank Martin called Kotsar’s “best game he’s played in a uniform here.”
“I felt locked in,” Kotsar said.
Frank Martin was most impressed by Kotsar’s career-high 10 free throw attempts.
“He’s being aggressive,” Martin said. “And when he’s playing aggressive, he’s a really good player.
“I’m really happy for Maik. Once again, it’s a senior playing his tail off to help our team. I got so much respect for seniors. They grow, they fight, they take my coaching — which is not easy — and then they spread their wings their senior year and go out and play their tails off.
“I’m really, really happy for Maik.”
NEXT
What: South Carolina (13-8, 5-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (10-11, 1-7)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Oxford, Mississippi
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 9:18 AM with the headline "In a jumbled SEC, the Gamecocks might have ‘the difference maker’ to separate."
