Here is the LOHD Ballot for this week:
1. Kentucky Wildcats
House is back in order after loss to USC.
2. Vanderbilt Commodores
Vandy is ok being second best in the SEC East because they never get to say that in football.
3. Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols rocked SC and looked good doing it but can they continue to play like that?
4. Mississippi Rebels
Have the makings of a well-rounded talented team and are standing out in a lackluster SEC West.
5. Florida Gators
These Gators find ways to win.  Test coming on Wednesday with South Carolina.
6. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
To me this team screams – underachieve.
7. Arkansas Razorbacks
Courtney Fortson and crew are beginning to make noise in the SEC.  Could be a surprise team for NCAAs?
8. South Carolina Gamecocks
Need 4 more Devan Downey’s yet haven’t give up yet on their chances to make headway in the SEC.
9. Alabama Crimson Tide
Anthony Grant's team is having consistency problems.  Got talent yet not meshing.
10. Georgia Bulldogs
The Dawgs can beat any team on any night it seems.  Sure more upsets to come.
11. Auburn Tigers
Coach Jeff Lebo better pull out the resume and get it updated.
12. LSU Tigers
Playing basketball in the SEC is not suppose to look so bad.

For the week of February 8th - 14th, here is the schedule for the Gamecocks Basketball Programs -
This Week:

Men's Basketball -- Last Week 0-1 /// Overall 13-9 (4-4)

Date

Day

Time(ET)

Opponent

TV

02.10

Wed

8.00

vs. Florida Gators

       SEC Network

02.13

Sat

4.00

vs. Georgia Bulldogs

SEC Network

Women's Basketball -- Last Week 1-1 /// Overall 13-10 (6-5)

Date

Day

Time(ET)

Opponent

TV

02.11

Thurs

7.00

vs. Miss State Bulldogs

-

02.14

Sun

3.00

vs. Arkansas Razorbacks

ESPN2

Just posted an update on Victor Hampton’s situation to gogamecocks.
The USC signee, who was arrested for underage drinking Friday after taking brandy to Darlington High, likely faces re-assignment to Darlington’s alternative school as a result of his arrest.
He’ll have a disciplinary hearing in the next week or two.
If he gets shipped to the Darlington County Intervention School, he can still get his diploma from Darlington High, which is critical in staying on track to be eligible.
But Hampton has other hurdles to clear: He has yet to make the necessary test score to qualify.
The legal ramifications seem pretty clear cut: The 17-year-old Hampton has a bench trial set for Wednesday in Darlington city court. He could request a jury trial, which would push things back.
Or he could plead guilty, pay a fine, surrender his license and have the matter resolved.
Steve Spurrier has yet to comment on Hampton’s situation, and likely won’t this week. USC media relations director Steve Fink said Spurrier is out of the office.
Given his history, Spurrier would likely say USC planned to wait for the legal process to play out before making any decisions.
Taken alone, the underage drinking charge would not be a deal-breaker. Yes, Hampton exercised extremely poor judgment – as he admitted in a statement released last week through his mentor/attorney – in taking liquor to school. But it is not anything too egregious.
The issue for Hampton is what appears to be a pattern of behavior. The defensive back attended three schools before enrolling at Darlington last fall – and left all of them under shaky circumstances.
Hampton has one prior arrest – a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge from 2008 he says was dropped. He says most of his problems at his other schools involved fights or a general attitude problem with respect to coaches.
He had been doing well in Darlington before Friday’s incident, according to coaches and administrators at the school. Cheveron Scott, the Darlington lawyer with whom Hampton lives, encouraged Hampton to smile more often after he moved from Charlotte last summer.
Talking to folks at USC, it seems the school will stick with Hampton, assuming he makes his test score and keeps his nose clean the rest of the school year.

The Gamecocks entered Knoxville riding a high but that was quickly deflated due to better team play out of the Vols. 
Wayne Chism scored a career-high 30 points as No. 14 Tennessee routed South Carolina 79-53 on Saturday night.
The Vols (18-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) won their sixth straight over the Gamecocks (13-9, 4-4).
UT was simply more athletic and it seemed, dare I say, better coached.  I want to tell myself that it was the six day layover between games that the Gamecocks had that affected their play but I know it has to do more with reality.
Reality being that Devan Downey is the offense.  Devan Downey, who entered the game averaging 31.6 points in SEC play, finished with 26 points for the Gamecocks.  If he is off, which he was, then the chances of a gamecocks win is slim to none.  Face it Gamecock fans as it is the truth.  The offense flows through him and if he is not getting his points then trouble looms for victory. 
Credit to the Vols as they did a good job on defense the entire game.  They limited the "Downey effect" by double teaming and get help defense to cause Devan to never find his shot.
What has been most surprising thus far in SEC play is that the Gamecocks do not really run set plays.  They run a lot of screens on isolation and they spread the court to allow a drive but you just do not see any real good plays from Carolina.  Look at the stat sheet from the UT game, the Gamecocks had 4 assists as a team in 'Rocky Top.'  Yes 4.  That means no ball movement and not making the 'extra pass.'
I know it is ‘Devan versus the world’ but that could change a bit by getting other gamecock players involved in the offense.  Currently, the plan is to give to Downey and either pray it goes in or get a rebound.  Reminds me a bit of 'street ball.'  I know Devan wants to get SEC POY and by him getting his 30 per game then it helps the case but I think the season is not lost so why resort to this?  I would love to see Devan work on running the offense and making his teammates better around him.  By doing this, more players get touches and the potential for added points exists.  Do feel that if this is notion is ran half the time then Devan can still get his points and pad his stat tally. 
But the question I have for Coach Horn related to this is -
Is our current team goal more focused on helping Devan get SEC POY honors or doing what it takes to get a NCAA bid?
I encourage you to watch the next Gamecocks game on Wednesday as they host the Florida Gators as you will see the answer play out in front of you.

Raise your hand if you thought Super Bowl XLIV would be won by the Saints. 
Well you got it right, as the Saints beat the Colts 31-17.  We here at LOHD are not big on the NFL just wanted to point out the fact that the Saints won their first Super Bowl championship in the franchise's 43-year history.  Congrats!