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South Carolina Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Gamecocks

By Brian Rauf

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 01: Head coach Frank Martin of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 01: Head coach Frank Martin of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks on in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates with his team after the 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates with his team after the 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Non-conference schedule

Nov. 6 — North Alabama
Nov. 10 — Wyoming
Nov. 15 — Cleveland State
Nov. 19 — Boston University
Nov. 22 — Gardner-Webb
Nov. 26 — Wichita State (Cancun Challenge)
Nov. 27 — West Virginia/Northern Iowa (Cancun Challenge)
Dec. 1 — George Washington
Dec. 4 — at UMass
Dec. 8 — Houston
Dec. 15 — at Clemson
Dec. 22 — at Virginia
Dec. 30 — Stetson

South Carolina’s lackluster non-conference play last season cost them any shot at making the NCAA Tournament, but things set up pretty nicely for them this year.

The Gamecocks start with five very winnable games (although they lost to Wyoming last year) before heading to Cancun over the Thanksgiving holiday. That four-team tournament will give South Carolina two good “measuring-stick games” no matter who they play. All four teams missed the Big Dance last year, but all return most of last season’s production are expected to take leaps forward and be firmly in the mix this season.

December games against George Washington, UMass, and Stetson should all be wins as well – a true road game against the Minutemen could get interesting – but that three-game stretch against Houston, Clemson, and Virginia is one of the toughest stretch of games the Gamecocks have all season.

Houston returns a large majority of the team that made the Sweet 16 last season and are projected to be one of the top two teams in the American Athletic Conference, along with Memphis. A home game against them gives Frank Martin’s squad a great chance to pick up a resume-building win early in the year.

Clemson is expected to be bad this year, but rivalry games on the road are always difficult.

That brings us to the biggest non-conference game on the schedule – a road game against the defending national champions. Virginia will look much different with Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter, yet the Cavaliers are still expected to be a top 25 team. Plus, UVA has only lost in Charlottesville seven times in the past five seasons and will have the toughest defense the Gamecocks will face.

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