COLUMBIA, S.C. – The James Green era will officially get underway on Friday, when his Jacksonville State men's basketball season takes on South Carolina at 6 p.m. CT in a game that will be televised regionally on SportSouth.

Green, who was hired as the Gamecocks' 10th head coach in the spring, will put his new team on the floor against the NCAA's only other Gamecocks, a group that is playing its first game under new head coach Darrin Horne. It will mark the first time that two sets of Gamecocks have taken the floor against each other in an NCAA basketball game.

JSU returns almost 60 percent of its offensive production from a year ago, but they turned to a group of talented new faces last week, when they downed West Georgia, 83-76, in exhibition action. Freshman Geddes Robinson scored a team-high 14 points in just nine minutes, while fellow freshmen Stephen Hall and John Barnes pitched in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Jax State will have the challenge of trying to slow down USC guard Devan Downey, the Gamecocks' Preseason All-SEC and Preseason Wooden Award Watch List honoree. Downey led South Carolina to a 75-55 exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 7 with 19 points and four steals.

Green came to the Gamecocks after a three-year stint at Mississippi Valley State that included the Southwestern Athletic Conference's 2007 Regular Season title and a trip to the NIT, as well as the SWAC's tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Green was named the league's Coach of the Year following the 2006-07 season.

Horn takes the reigns at USC after five highly successful seasons as the head coach of his alma mater, Western Kentucky. Horn compiled a 111-48 record at WKU and gained national attention after leading the Hilltoppers to the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

JSU's third season opener against a Southeastern Conference team in four years will be televised on the regional network SportSouth with Tom Werme and Eddie Fogler calling the action. SportSouth is available in the Jacksonville area on CableOne channel 52, DirecTV channel 649 and Dish Network channel 437. The game will also be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris providing play-by-play.