That was an ugly basketball game for most of it. South Carolina can make a game ugly and lower scoring even if they haven't been able to win an SEC game, and they doubled down on that given the recipe against Kentucky. For a lot of the first half we saw very ugly offense from South Carolina and some very disrupted Kentucky offense.
When Murray-Boyles went to the bench with two fouls UK was up one, and I was surprised Paris sat him the rest of the half. You're winless in the SEC and your only viable offensive option is sitting with two fouls as the game slips away - seemed odd, but Kentucky did start to play tougher to generate points and while the Gamecocks are legitimately terrible on offense, Kentucky played better defense.
While USC is very limited on offense it's hard to quantify the difference when Lamont Butler is out front defending compared to when he is out. So that will definitely help them.
Later in the game when Kentucky blew it open they started playing at a high level. Oweh's motor picked up. The big men (both Amari and Garrison) made some excellent passes. In spite of the technical foul, Garrison made some highlight reel plays and was the best version of himself.
Scoring 47 points in the second half against South Carolina is impressive any way you slice it. Big picture, maybe this helps them get their confidence back some before a rough stretch.
