NCAA Basketball: Best games from 2019-20 season – Kentucky vs. South Carolina

Kentucky and South Carolina met for their first matchup of the season and gave us one of January’s most exciting games; let’s remember how it went down.

College basketball fans across the nation were saddened and shocked by the cancellation of most of the postseason, including the NCAA Tournament. Still, we have plenty of great moments to remember from this past season, even if it ended early. We continue our look at the top 40 games from that 2019-20 season with an SEC game that turned into quite the thriller back in January.

25. South Carolina 81, #10 Kentucky 78

January 15, 2020, Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

In recent seasons, Kentucky’s stranglehold at the top of the SEC has certainly been challenged. While we didn’t get to see the end of this season due to the national pandemic, these Wildcats have certainly had challengers in recent years. Tennessee has sat atop the league recently, while Auburn and South Carolina have made more recent trips to the Final Four than the Wildcats.

Kentucky’s season had already been quite a journey before this January matchup with the Gamecocks. They had knocked off top-ranked Michigan State but fell victim to Evansville in the season’s first few weeks. They entered play at 12-3, winning their first three SEC games after some solid efforts from Immanuel Quickly and Tyrese Maxey. Kentucky was looking like the best team in the SEC again but knew every game was a challenge.

For South Carolina, the recent story was clearly their Final Four run back in 2017, but the previous year’s team had surprised many by finishing 5th in a tough SEC race. The expectations were lower this season, but the Gamecocks still had AJ Lawson and several other solid players. Unfortunately, they had already been upset at home by Boston University and Stetson and welcomed Kentucky while on a three-game skid, with a win needed desperately to help turn things around.

Early on, Kentucky played like the top 10 team that they were. Nick Richards and Tyrese Maxey both hit a pair of shots and he Wildcats had an 8-0 lead right off the bat. It took over six and a half minutes for the Gamecocks to make a field goal, though they limited Kentucky’s offense enough to keep them in the game early. Even when the offenses started heading up, South Carolina’s largest disadvantage had been just seven points, though things were only getting started.

A 3-pointer from Quickley was followed by a jumper from Nate Sestina, and Kentucky’s advantage was 21-10 just twelve minutes into the game. It would’ve been easy for South Carolina to fall out of the game early, but they fought back. They got a desperately needed 3-pointer from Jermaine Couisnard and then a second one on their next possession. Even when Kentucky extended the lead again, the Gamecocks fought back.

By halftime, the Kentucky lead was eight, though it certainly could’ve been much larger. South Carolina struck early in the second half, but the Wildcats had an answer. Sestina’s 3-pointer extended the lead all the way to 13, while it would grow as large as 14 on multiple occasions. As the half progressed, the Gamecocks offense was starting to respond, but they weren’t getting the stops they needed on defense, at least not yet.

The turnaround finally began near the midpoint of the half, with a Justin Minaya 3-pointer, and a 6-point spurt from Couisnard. While Kentucky would extend the lead again, in less than a minute they had trimmed the lead all the way back to four. Couisnard played an important role in this game, and it was his jumper with five minutes left that finally tied the game after the teams continued to battle.

A 3-pointer from Minaya gave the Gamecocks their first lead, a lead they’d actually extend all the way to 5-points in the following minute. In fact, in the final minute, South Carolina had somehow worked their lead all the way up to six points, but Kentucky still had their chance. Quickley cashed in on an and-one opportunity while South Carolina missed three of four free throws in the final half-minute.

Quickley’s jumper tied the game with seven seconds left, but Couisnard would not be outdone. The Gamecock’s hero had one final act, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, sinking the Wildcats hopes after a furious rally in the final minute.

Couisnard led all scorers with 26 points, and while his shooting wasn’t particularly efficient, he did what was needed for South Carolina to get this win. Quickly had 20 off the bench for the Wildcats in a game with 25 total missed free throws for both teams.

This was a great win for South Carolina, especially after digging themselves out of that big hole in the second half. It ignited the team on some fantastic play, as they actually finished 6th place in the SEC, several spots higher than had been expected. That SEC Tournament would never be played, though their 18-13 record probably indicated that an NCAA Tournament bid would have been unlikely without conference tournament heroics.

For Kentucky, the loss stung but by no means was a dagger. The Wildcats would bounce back nicely, winning their next four, including on the road at Texas Tech. They won the SEC regular-season title and likely would have done serious damage had the NCAA Tournament not been canceled. They fell victim to Couisnard’s heroics during this incredible game, but this Kentucky team was a force. For this one night, South Carolina had just enough to topple that force.