April 30, 2004

Of the more than 320 Divison I college basketball teams, the Gamecock men’s basketball team, 23-11 in 2003-04 including an NCAA berth and an SEC Tournament semi-finals appearance, was the seventh most improved team nationally in the past year. They joined sixth other teams with an eight-game turnaround.

USC was 23-11 in 2004, compared to 12-16 in 2003.

As regards to SEC teams, USC was the second most improved team behind Vanderbilt, who finished at 23-10 with an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 finish (11-18 in 2003, a 10 game turnaround). USC defeated the Commodores in both meetings.

UTEP led the country with a 17 game turnaround, finishing 24-8 in 2004 after finishing 6-24 in 2003.