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No. 19 South Carolina loses second straight home game

Under Armour Reunion

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Frank Martin of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts against the Seton Hall Pirates in the first half of the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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Sindarius Thornwell has been playing the best basketball of his career for No. 19 South Carolina, and that didn’t change on Wednesday night, as he finished with 27 points, four boards and three assists against Arkansas.

Thornwell is now averaging 33.0 points over the last three games, yet the Gamecocks are just 1-2 in those three games with both losses coming at home.

On Wednesday, it was Arkansas who beat South Carolina in Columbia, doing so after Alabama did the same thing last week in four overtimes, and both games played out more or less the same way. South Carolina dug themselves a big first half hole because their offense consisted of Thornwell and nothing else, and despite a wild rally late in the second half, they were unable to close out the win.

This doesn’t exactly kill the South Carolina tournament profile - they’re no where near the bubble - but it has effectively ruined their chances of winning the SEC regular season title. The Gamecocks were all alone in first place when they lost to Alabama. They’re now a game behind both Florida and Kentucky.

This is not something that Frank Martin appreciated. By the end of Wednesday night’s game, he had lost his suit jacket, his tie and his shirt was untucked.

Hopefully he takes that anger out on the game-film and figures out a way for the Gamecocks to be better than they have been this season on the offensive end of the floor.