The USC men's basketball team and Coach Horn lost out on a good recruit for the Class of 2012 to the University of Central Florida recently as Shawn Smith gave his verbal to be a Knight. 

Smith, a three star prospect, plays shooting guard and had been targeted by Coach Horn to be brought in to be a sharp shooter but also a guy that can create.  He has lots of upsize and is a loss for Coach Horn as he is a perfect fit for the style of play that South Carolina runs.

Keep in mind that Coach Horn has a solid 2011 class coming in with Anthony Gill and Damien Leonard.

The University of South Carolina men's basketball team must improve their resume if they hope to play in the 2011 NCAA tournament or the NIT.  Here is a breakdown of their resume as of Jan. 24, 2011....

Also do check out the General's breakdown that he will do throughout the season, keep in mind this was before the UK loss.....CLICK HERE.

The Gamecocks next game is against Auburn.

So who is the best basketball teams in the SEC you ask, well let me tell you who this Gamecocks blog feels is the best heading into the week of Jan. 23-29....see below...

This week in the Bloguin Fab Four Plus One ballot, you can see some changes at the top with the recent loss of Syracuse and Kansas.  Those two teams were in our previous top four teams but no more.  And San Diego State....

Remember this poll is the look at the top four basketball programs before the polls tell you who the top teams are and we, the bloguin voters, also tell you who the top Non-BCS school is in hoops.  Here is our ballot:

The USC Gamecocks lost to the Kentucky Wildcats by the score of 67-58 but despite the end result for South Carolina, there is much to take away for future growth for the young team.  The Gamecocks showed good fight and at times hung with the top-ranked Wildcats but the "inside the paint" scoring proved to be the death nail for USC.  South Carolina allowed too many easy baskets, UK could not miss it seemed from the free throw line and Ellington's foul troublue haunted Carolina.

Sam Muldrow tied his career high with 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks (12-6, 3-2).  Overall, USC struggled to get good shots against Kentucky, finishing 16 of 51 (31 percent). They were just 2 of 15 on 3-pointers.  Poor shooting spells 'loss'.

In this loss, there was much to be proud of - the fight Carolina showed late with a never say die attitude, the energy the fans had (should be that way for every game) and the way the team stepped up without Ellington.  All good things for the young team and good things for the future.

Going forward, USC must improve their shot selection and interior defense.  They have a week to shape up before Auburn comes to town. 

The USC Gamecocks basketball plays host to the Kentucky Wildcats tonight at 6 p.m. in the Colonial Center and it will be on ESPN.  Can a upset happen again?  Can Ellington put on a show like Downey?

It will take a team effort from USC to beat Kentucky tonight and it can be done.  Kentucky is a Top 25 team, ranked #12 in the AP, and they're a tough match for South Carolina. The Gamecocks boast a record of 12-5 overall including 3-1 in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have a notable record of 14-4 and are 2-2 in the conference.

For USC to win, these five things must be done:

The Gamecocks are a quarter of the way through their conference basketball schedule and are 3-1. Now seems like as good a time as any to begin our series on the Gamecocks' post season chances. We'll update this periodically as more games are played and the post season becomes more clear.

Here is the first breakdown:

Records: 12-5 (3-1) T-1st in the East; T-1st overall
RPI: 79
Last 3 games: L @ Alabama 47-57, W @ Florida 72-69, W v. Arkansas 81-74 (OT)
Bracket Projections including South Carolina in the field and seed:  The Bracket Mensa, 12
Projected Record Needed to Receive Bid: 20-9 (11-5)
Games the Gamecocks need to win: AUBURN, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, OLE MISS, TENNESSEE
Swing Games: KENTUCKY, @ LSU, @ Miss St, @ Georgia
Long Shots: @ Kentucky, @ Vandy, @ Tennessee

It's no secret the SEC is not having its best year as a basketball conference. I don't think that a 9-7 or 10-6 team is guaranteed to make the tournament. Tennessee might be the exception because of their strength of schedule, but South Carolina probably won't have a strong enough schedule to go to the dance without 11 conference wins. The team already has 3 with 12 games to play, so they need 8 more.

You have to win most of your home games to make it, and this year's team will be no exception if they make a run. The remaining home schedule isn't as bad as it could be. Ole Miss and Auburn should be wins. Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are all talented, but who knows which team will show up for those teams.

Road games are difficult for most teams. The games at Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky will be the hardest for this team, so a win at any of those venues will be a bonus. The road games against the West teams and Georgia will be where this team can make their season.

Check back with leftoverhotdog.com for more updates as the season progresses and until then Go Cocks!

The USC Gamecocks basketball team will take on tonight the Arkansas Razorbacks in Columbia, SC.  With a USC win, the Gamecocks claim first place in the SEC East.  Tip-off is 8pm tonight and will be on the SEC Network.

The Gamecocks come in at 11-5 overall and are 2-1 in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have a record of 12-4 including 2-1 in the conference.  The Gamecocks rank higher in RPI as they stand at #95 and the Razorbacks at #111.  So USC should win right?

Let's preview the game...

SEC hoops is well underway and some movement has happened since our last ballot.  Feel free to comment and let us know where we missed in our rankings.

Here are the results from last week and below is our ballot for this week:

With our Bloguin "Fab Four Plus One" ballot for this week, there is movement at the top due to the Duke loss early in the week. 

Here is the final results and our ballot is below -