The Daily Gamecock

Around the SEC: Conference standouts as South Carolina men's basketball aims for a comeback

<p>FILE — Junior guard Jacobi Wright looks pass the ball to his teammate on Jan 6, 2024. South Carolina beat Mississippi 68-62.</p>
FILE — Junior guard Jacobi Wright looks pass the ball to his teammate on Jan 6, 2024. South Carolina beat Mississippi 68-62.

The South Carolina men’s basketball team has found itself winless through 7 games in Southeastern Conference play following a 10-3 start to the season including a win over rival and then-No 25 Clemson. Saturday's seventh loss officially the worst start to SEC play in program history.

Losses to several nationally ranked opponents including twice to No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 4 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn and No. 5 Florida, have seen the Gamecocks fall short in claiming its first victory from conference matchups. Three of its four losses came by 5 points or less at Colonial Life Arena in contests where they were ahead for the majority of the game, including against two top five opponents.

"If it doesn't break you it'll make you stronger," head coach Lamont Paris said after the Gamecocks loss to Mississippi St. "And it hasn't broken our guys."

The first of the Gamecock's stretch of close losses in SC came on Jan. 11 against Auburn, where the Gamecocks led the Tigers by a point with a minute and a half remaining. However, two made free throws by freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford and a late dunk from graduate center Dylan Cardwell guided Auburn to a 66-63 victory in a tightly contested matchup. 

A week and a half later the Gamecocks returned home to battle Florida where the Gators overcame a 14-point deficit and scored a go-ahead layup with less than five seconds left to win 70-69. 

"We're not losers," sophomore forward Colin Murray-Boyles said after the Gamecocks loss to Florida. "I mean the record might reflect something different but in our hearts, I know we’re not losers."

An overtime loss the following Saturday at home to Mississippi State saw the Gamecocks drop their fourth-straight home game, with senior guard Jamarii Thomas leading the Gamecocks with 19 points on his return from injury. 

The road ahead does not get any easier for the Gamecocks with four of its next five games being against AP Top 20 opponents.

Nationally recognized teams put the country on watch

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The SEC currently has nine teams in the AP Top 25, more than any other conference. Five of these teams are ranked in the nation’s top ten.

Auburn was the unanimous pick at No. 1 in the Associated Press (AP) men’s college basketball poll released on Jan. 20. The Tigers are also the only undefeated team left since conference play began, boasting a record of 6-0 in the SEC and 18-1 overall. The Tigers entered conference play with multiple Quad 1 wins, including victories against then-No. 4 Houston in the 2024 Hall of Fame Series along with defeating then-No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina and Memphis on its way to winning the Maui Invitational. 

Quad 1 wins refer to home games against teams ranked 1-30 in the NET, neutral games against teams in the top 50, and away games against teams in the top 75. According to 247Sports, The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) assesses college basketball teams when it comes to seeding and selection for the NCAA Tournament, taking into account strength of schedule, win quality, and offensive and defensive efficiency.

The Tigers most recently defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 53-51 in a closely contested top-six matchup, with senior guard Miles Kelly hitting a shot from beyond the arc with 30 seconds left to give Auburn the lead.  

The Alabama Crimson Tide are not far off its neighboring rivals, carrying a 17-3 record with head coach Nate Oats fielding one of the top ranked offenses in the country. The Crimson Tide’s high-powered offense has scored over 100 points on six occasions this season, averaging 90.4 points per game. Away wins against No. 9 Kentucky and No. 13 Texas A&M were split by a loss at home to No. 16 Ole Miss, handing Alabama its first loss in nearly two months to bring the team to 6-1 and second in the SEC standings.

No. 5 Florida carries an 18-2 record with five conference wins while No. 6 Tennessee follows with a 17-3 record and four wins in conference play. In a top-ten matchup, the Gators defeated the Volunteers as the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball, winning handily by 30 points.

No. 9 Kentucky rounds out the SEC presence in the national top ten, with back-to-back wins against No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 14 Mississippi State, seeing the Wildcats eclipse their counterparts.

The Bulldogs and No. 22 Missouri Tigers share 16-4 records with the Vanderbilt Commodores, while the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels and Aggies possess identical 15-5 comprehensive records. The four teams have traded wins, with Mississippi State defeating Ole Miss 84-81 before scoring a season-low 56 points against Tennessee. 

After four straight wins to begin conference play, Ole Miss has lost three straight games, with Texas A&M edging the Rebels by one in a 63-62 win. Missouri found itself ranked for the first time this season after ending Florida's 16-game home winning streak, while also defeating Ole Miss 83-75 at home Saturday night in a top-25 showdown.

In its first matchup since joining the SEC, Texas defeated Texas A&M 70-69 with a crucial 3-point shot by freshman guard Tre Johnson and a timely layup by graduate guard Tramon Mark to complete its largest comeback in 15 seasons.

As conference play continues to heat up, several teams have found it difficult to pick up a run of games. According to ESPN’s 2025 NCAA Tournament Men’s Bracketology, 13 SEC teams are still projected to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Top performers leading early conference play

Regardless of collective team performance, individual excellence rings true. A prime example of this is Murray-Boyles, who is averaging 15.1 points per game this season along with 9.1 rebounds per game, shooting 58.8% from field range.

Murray-Boyles has gained recognition for his interior scoring, efficiency around the rim and defensive stability which includes the quickness to guard wings on the perimeter.

His most notable performance this season was against Auburn on Jan. 11, where he scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and held senior forward Johni Broome to 6 points. Broome exited in the second half with a significant left ankle sprain.

Prior to his injury, Broome was a candidate for the Wooden Award, an award given to the most outstanding players in men's and women's college basketball. Broome is averaging 17.8 points per game this season and leading the SEC with 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Broome returned off the bench against Tennessee, in which he led all players with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Tre Johnson of the Texas Longhorns leads the SEC with 18.8 points per game. Johnson’s showings include a 26-point performance in a 74-70 loss to former No. 1 Tennessee along with a 30-point game against Texas A&M in which he made four 3-pointers.

Senior guard Mark Sears of Alabama is second in the SEC with 18.1 points per game along with adding 4.8 assists per game. In a 103-87 home win against Vanderbilt, Sears reached the milestone of 2,500 career points. Senior forward Jalon Moore of Oklahoma closes out the top three with 18.0 points per game.

Tennessee’s pair of senior guards Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier have also offered efficiency on the offensive side of the ball, with Ziegler’s SEC-high 7.5 assists per game complimenting Lanier’s 18.0 points per game, tied with Moore for the third highest in the SEC. Lanier is also an efficient shooter, hitting 3.6 3-pointers per game and connecting on 42.3% of attempted shots.

Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV has also showcased his versatility, contributing 14.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. The senior guard recently returned to the starting lineup from an undisclosed injury to help the Aggies win against LSU. The Aggies dropped two games during his two-weeklong absence.

Meanwhile, senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. has been a scoring force for Florida, averaging 17.8 points per game and shooting 46.1% from field goals. Clayton Jr. scored a season-high 33 points in a 106-100 loss to Kentucky and 28 points in a loss to Missouri just 10 days later.

Across the rest of the conference, Mississippi State’s sophomore guard Josh Hubbard has been a standout this season, averaging 16.3 points per game while starting in every matchup. Georgia’s freshman forward Asa Newell is another young prospect, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting 55.3% from field goals despite the Bulldogs’ four straight losses.

The talent on display in the SEC has solidified its reputation as the highest-performing conference in the nation. All 16 teams have break-even or winning records overall, contributing to a collective conference win percentage of 88.9% as the third month of the season comes to a finish.

The Gamecocks will continue it's search for its first win in SEC play on Tuesday when it travels to Athens, GA to face the Georgia Bulldogs. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and air live on the SEC Network.


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