USC BASKETBALL

No. 25 South Carolina looks for win at No. 8 Texas A&M

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COLUMBIA — No. 25 South Carolina has followed both of its previous losses with victories in the next game. They look to do it for the third time on Saturday against Southeastern Conference co-leader in No. 8 Texas A&M.

South Carolina (19-3, 6-2 SEC) can inch closer to the top of the SEC against the Aggies (18-4, 7-2), reach 20 wins for the first time in seven years and prevent its first two-game losing streak of the season.

Gamecocks forward Mindaugas Kacinas said the players won’t worry much about all that, carrying the same mindset into Texas A&M they’ve worked with all season.

“We don’t overreact to a win or loss,” said Kacinas, a senior who is among five South Carolina players averaging double-figure points this season. “We come in every day after the game just work hard, learn from our mistakes and move forward.”

If the Gamecocks do that once more, they could come out of the weekend on top of the SEC. South Carolina is a game behind the Aggies and LSU, both 7-2 in SEC play.

South Carolina might’ve been in first already if it had taken care of things against up-and-down Georgia this past Tuesday in a 69-56 loss. Kacinas said the team came out sluggish and could not match the Bulldogs’ intensity.

“We got outrebounded, got outshot at the free throw line,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. “It’s hard for us to win when that happens.”

Martin said several players were “listless” against Georgia.

The Gamecocks put those issues aside the next day and had several days of perky workouts, Kacinas said.

“We’ve worked on what we did wrong,” he said. “We’re ready to go.”