NCAA Basketball: UConn, Iowa State, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
17. South Carolina (26-7)
No matter how the coming days and weeks transpire, this has clearly been a remarkable season for basketball at South Carolina. The Gamecocks haven’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament since that amazing Final Four run way back in 2017, but Lamont Paris’s second season in Columbia has been quite prosperous. It wasn’t a perfect journey for South Carolina, but they’ve mostly taken care of business, even beating a few of this season’s best teams.
In their first matchup at the SEC Tournament, South Carolina won 80-66 over Arkansas, with 24 points from Colin Murray-Boyles and a 19-point, 9-rebound effort from B. J. Mack. Friday’s proceedings in the quarterfinals were far less successful, as the Gamecocks were blown out 86-55 by Auburn. Everything went wrong on offense in the team’s second big loss to the Tigers, with Mack leading the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Little was expected from the Gamecocks this season, meaning that 13-5 mark in SEC play is outstanding. Even after another let down, South Carolina still has a lot of potential in front of them. They’ll get a decent seed and hope for the best matchup for their first Tourney appearance in nearly a decade. Know that these are phenomenal times in Columbia but this team isn’t satisfied with just showing up in the Big Dance.