When the South Carolina men's basketball team hosts Oklahoma State Saturday , the meeting will be a unique sort of unpredictable.
The Gamecocks are barely over .500 with a 4-3 record, but Monday's 77-59 dispatching of Marshall would have you believe South Carolina is capable of much more.
The Cowboys are undefeated at 6-0, but they've hardly been tested. Oklahoma State's fast start is built on wins over Southeastern Louisiana, Prairie View A&M, Milwaukee, Oregon State and Tulsa.
The two teams square off as a part of the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge, and it will serve as a benchmark for the state of both programs.
"We're starting to understand what it takes to win high-level games. We're still not there yet," head coach Frank Martin said. "I'm hoping Saturday we can play a little better and maybe figure one of these out."
Over the last two years, the Gamecocks have been in this position a number of times. The Big 12 isn't exactly a basketball powerhouse outside of Kansas, but South Carolina has scheduled two of its best in recent years.
Last season, the Gamecocks traveled to both Baylor and Oklahoma State before the start of the SEC season and they saw mixed results. South Carolina almost left Waco, Texas with a signature win over the Bears, but came up short by just two points. The team's trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma wasn't as encouraging, ending in a 79-52 loss to the Cowboys.
South Carolina is the home team in both rematches this season. And after another single-digit loss to Baylor last month, Saturday against OSU could be the Gamecocks' last shot at the Big 12 for the foreseeable future.
South Carolina's Big 12/SEC Challenge inclusion certainly wasn't a given this year, and if the Gamecocks aren't competitive this time around, it could conceivably hurt their chances going forward.
"I thought we were getting left out, and then I got an 11th-hour phone call," Martin said. "How do you not get excited about playing a school like Oklahoma State and being a part of the Challenge and exposing your team to an NCAA-level opponent?"
The Cowboys should make a strong push at the NCAA tournament this season. They're on the periphery of the top 25 as the third team left out of the AP Poll and the sixth team not to make the Coaches Poll.
With an unbeaten record, Oklahoma State's narrow exclusion from the rankings proves how uncertain the media is about how the Cowboys would stack up against better competition.
But they're certainly favored over an inconsistent South Carolina team.
However, if there's one thing that gives the Gamecocks hope going into Saturday's game, it's that most recent effort they put forth at Marshall.
The team fired on all cylinders, and players stepped into uncharacteristic roles in order to secure the convincing win.
Sophomore guard Duane Notice went for a career-high 27 points. South Carolina's leading scorer, sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, registered 10 points that were pedestrian by his standards. He did, however, lead the Gamecocks in rebounding with 10 boards on the game.
"No matter the opponent, or whoever it is, it's always good to get a road win," sophomore forward Demetrius Henry said. "We're definitely going to build off of that."