USC Upstate Preview

First, it is the University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans, and the school is in Spartanburg, SC.

They were 17-16 last year, finishing 5th in the Atlantic Sun Conference.  They were picked to finished #4 this year.  (Atlantic Sun is the same conference Florida Gulf Coast is in.  Last year the conference was ranked #25 out of 32.  They played in the CIT.

USC Upstate is 2-3 so far this year.  They started the season with a 280 kenpom and that's where it is right now.

They lost by 15 to Minnesota and 9 to Georgia...both of which on the road and reasonable losses.  They also lost at home to Charleston Southern, which has a kenpom of 288.  Both of their wins are non D1 wins.

Style-wise, they are a 3FG oriented team.  Over half (54.1%) of their FG attempts have been 3FGs, which is the 4th highest percentage in D1.  They aren't that good at them....just a little bit above average, which explains why they are #237 overall in offensive efficiency in these early days.  They take really good care of the ball but are below average in everything else.  They are 306th in defensive efficiency and are only above average in forcing turnovers.

Their leading scorer is Malik Moore, a 6'6" JR who was a 10/5 guy last year. He's scoring 15 PPG this year to go with 5.6 RPG.  He is shooting only 39%, but that's partly because he is an awful 6 of 26 shooting 3s.  His 2FGS are over 50%.

Maybe their biggest surprise is Jure Span, a 6'4" Jr from Slovenia.  He scored 3.5 last year, but this year he is scoring 14 PPG on 57% shooting and 63% from beyond the arc.  He also averages 3 assists per game.  Even the ever-optimistic Blue Ribbon calls him "defensively challenged."

Mike Cunningham, their returning leading scorer, is a 6'0" and r-Jr.  He is scoring 13.8 on 37% shooting, which is pretty inefficient.  Ramel Thompkins, a 6'7" Sr is scoring 11.8 to go with 8 RPG, but shooting only 41%.

Hard to know what you are getting with these guys and frankly with our guys after the last two games.  Under most ordinary circumstances, this is a game you'd expect to win on a neutral floor.  I'd say two variables are whether BG can defend.  Whether Justin Turner plays will also be a factor.