With the Cats traveling to Columbia this weekend to face SEC foe South Carolina, here are the matchups to watch out for.

Tyler Ulis vs. Sindarius Thornwell

South Carolina entered conference play undefeated and has been in and out of the coaching polls in recent weeks, making them one of the surprise teams of the season. Junior Sindarius Thornwell is a big reason for the great pay of the team.

The guard’s 6’5”, 215 lbs. frame gives him the versatility to do a little bit of everything for the team as he ranks in the top three on the team for points (2nd), assists (1st) and rebounds (3rd). Thornwell is great at using his size to create a shot for himself and others, and it showed in South Carolina’s upset win over No. 8 Texas A&M as he came away with 9 assists.

While his size may help in other areas, it may hinder him some on the defensive end having to chase around sophomore Tyler Ulis. The point guard for UK has had his way with SEC defenses and it shows with his 18.7 points and 7.2 assists per game averages in conference play.

Isaiah Briscoe vs. PJ Dozier

The two-spots are played by a freshman for both teams and both Isaiah Briscoe for UK and PJ Dozier have struggled as expected. Neither are good shooters and prefer to get to the rim, but once there Briscoe sets himself apart by showing the ability at finding open teammates.

The guard out of New Jersey is averaging nearly four assists per game in conference play and has improved free-throw shooting now to where the Rupp crowd only cheers if he makes both on his trip.

While he struggles as a shooter, Dozier plays a crucial part on the defensive end for the Gamecocks averaging over a steal per game on the season. 

Jamal Murray vs. Michael Carrera

Michael Carrera comes into the matchup with the Cats as South Carolina’s leading scorer with 14.4 points per game and is crucial to the team being the only reliable shooter from deep in the starting lineup. Carrera also leads the team in rebounds per game, so UK will need its guards to get involved to make sure he doesn’t hurt UK too bad.

As good of a shooter Carrera is, freshman Jamal Murray is better. The guard for UK has gotten on a roll the last two games scoring a combined 59 points while going 16-for-20 from deep. The fact that he has been one of UK’s better players in road games just adds to the likelihood of seeing another big game from the freshman.

Derek Willis vs. Mindaugas Kacinas

In UK’s matchup against Georgia, Derek Willis had a solid showing of 11 points and six rebounds while also shooting 3-for-7 from behind the arc. He has cemented his spot as UK’s third scoring option behind Murray and Ulis, and it is all thanks to his revamped effort on the glass and the defense allowing head coach John Calipari to play him more this season.

Mindaugas Kacinas comes in with modest averages of 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks, but has shown some real value recently in stretching to floor as a big man. The Lithuanian forward played a key part in South Carolina’s upset over the Aggies this past weekend going 2-for-3 from behind the arc and chipping in 11 points.

Marcus Lee vs. Chris Silva

With Alex Poythress missing the next two weeks, junior Marcus Lee has been given a chance to get back to the production we saw at the beginning of the season.

The forward had two double-doubles in November but since SEC play started, has only gotten close once at Alabama with 11 rebounds and eight points. The key will be not fouling so he can stay on the floor, but maybe being in the starting lineup with give him the motivation to be disciplined enough not to foul.

Chris Silva checks in as South Carolina’s tallest starter and with comes the responsibility of patrolling the paint. He only averages one block per game, but Silva has shown that he can be an intermediating force inside when he wants two with two multiple block games in the last three games for the Gamecocks.