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South Carolina is one of the biggest surprises of the young college basketball season.The Gamecocks are 6-0 and coming off back-to-back impressive wins over Michigan and Syracuse. They beat both the Wolverines and the Orange by double digits behind stout defensive efforts.South Carolina entered the AP Poll at No. 20 this week. Still, Gamecocks coach Frank Martin knows his team has its hands full Thursday, when the scrappy Vermont Catamounts visit Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.(Being) 6-0 doesnt help you win No. 7 in any way, shape or fashion, Martin said. So weve got our work cut out for us. Vermont is a very good basketball team.Like the Gamecocks, Vermont (6-2) is off to a solid start to the season. The Catamounts only two defeats came against Providence and Houston. They are coming off a 67-65 win over Yale that followed a 72-71 loss to Houston in the Gulf Coast Showcase final Nov. 23 at Estero, Fla.Its just heartbreaking to lose like that, Vermont coach John Becker told the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press after the game. Weve won our fair share, but it hurts right now.Vermont features a balanced offensive attack, led by junior forward Payton Henson, who is one of three Catamounts averaging in double figures at 13.5 points per game.The Catamounts rank in the top 25 in the nation in rebounds and assists.Martin is familiar with Vermonts program through his time spent coaching Northeastern in the American East Conference.They were just impossible to beat, very disciplined basketball, Martin said of the Catamounts. (Its) a very, very hard game to play, especially coming off the two we just played.Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell leads the Gamecocks, averaging 20.0 points per game, third best in the Southeastern Conference. Senior guard Duane Notice and sophomore guard PJ Dozier are also key contributors on a South Carolina offense averaging 75.5 points per game.Dozier had a big game in the win over Syracuse, scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and recording three steals. He is tied for the SEC lead in steals.The Gamecocks are winning with defense, though. They held both Michigan and Syracuse to less than 51 points last week. Louisiana Tech, in the first game of the season, is the only team to put up 70 on South Carolina.The Gamecocks also got off to a hot start last season and finished with a school-record 24 wins. Yet, South Carolina lost three of its last four games and was left out of the NCAA TournamentThat is why Martin says this years 6-0 start is nice, but nothing really matters until the end.Everything is about being in the right place in March as a basketball team, Martin said at his weekly press conference. I hope we get there.In order to play into March, Martin says his players cant start believing that they have it made.I dont want my guys wrapped up in that. I want them to approach things as were still the nobodys, he said. We have to stay on edge, have to stay on point.While Vermont has a reputation as a dangerous underdog, the Catamounts have not beaten a ranked team since 2007, when they knocked off then-No. 14 Boston College.The Thursday game will be the second all-time meeting between South Carolina and Vermont. The teams played in 1979, with the Gamecocks winning 66-65. Yonder Alonso Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Carlos Carrasco Jersey . LUCIE, Fla. http://www.indiansteamproshop.com/Indians-Erik-Gonzalez-Kids-Jersey/ . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Yan Gomes Jersey . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Manny Ramirez Jersey . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The story around the top eight for Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator at the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) was that of incredible talent from a dominant region overwhelming the competition.The favorites coming into the top eight: Japans Omito Omito Hashimoto, Masahiro Machabo- Tominaga, and Takahiro Nakamura Kitano. These three players were the most relevant, in the finest form, and wielded the strongest understanding of the newest technology in Guilty Gear. Although this list excludes last Evos champion, Kenichi Ogawa Ogawa, this is not meant as disrespect. Ogawa made a strong showing in the tournament and made it to the top eight, but he lacked some momentum and pure understanding of the game.The Japanese elite knew how to pressure and escape their opponents flurries (even in mirror matches). While there were some close matches, the finals were overall a very one-sided affair. The strongest of the Japanese players utilized the unblockables, air resets, and various corner pressure options that only the best would take advantage of.Will a threat emerge from outside of Japan?The big question after a relatively quiet top eight without much geographic diversity was: Can Japan be stopped? At the moment, the short answer is simply no. The monsters on the sticks that ruled the tournnament were Machabo-, Omito, and Nakamura.dddddddddddd They distanced themselves from even their own countrymen by crushing them in either quick succession or executing ridiculous comebacks to steal all their momentum. The finals at Evo proved that Japan was not only heads-and-toes above the rest of the world, but that new talent and potential can always bubble up to the surface for this community.The world needs to take notice. If you want to compete with these unbelievable Gears, its time to really hustle and learn the mechanics and nuances of the game engine.Your winner of Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator is:Whether youd describe Machabo- as consistent or dominant, either way the eventual champion was just too strong of an opponent and made little work of most of the competition. The power behind Machabo- is more than just character selection or understanding what makes his particular main Gear so cheap; its his understanding of the games mechanics and the stubbornness to enforce his will.While the grand finals were closer than the rest of his matches, Machabo- made it very clear since the beginning of top eight that he was the monster to be feared. ' ' '