South Carolina Faces Texas A&M Saturday

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – South Carolina (11-8, 2-4 SEC) is on the road again Saturday to face Texas A&M (15-4, 5-1 SEC) at Reed Arena. The game has been moved up from 3:30 p.m. (ET) to 1 p.m. due to winter weather.

TV coverage has moved over to SEC Network+ with Will Johnson (pxp) and Tap Bentz (analyst) on the call for the broadcast.

Four of the eight total matchups Saturday across the league have been moved up with earlier tip times due to dangerous winter weather across the Southeast. Ole Miss at Kentucky will start at 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN to kickoff the Saturday slate of games across the SEC.

The Gamecocks are fresh off an 85-76 win over Oklahoma earlier this week on Tuesday. Meechie Johnson had 20 points (18 in the second half) and Kobe Knox logged a season-high 18 points (12 in the second half) with a team-high seven rebounds. Johnson was 13-of-15 at the free throw line in the game, including making nine-straight foul shots the final 2:05 to help secure the victory. Carolina was efficient across the board offensively shooting 49.1% (27-of-55) from the floor, 45.0% (9-of-20) from 3 and 78.6% (22-of-28) at the free throw line. The Gamecocks averaged 1.197 points per possession against the Sooners. With the win, the team improved to 20-1 under head coach Lamont Paris over the last four seasons when scoring 80 or more points.

Thru 19 games, Carolina remains the SEC leader (No. 10 nationally) at the free throw line, shooting 78.0% (320-of-410 FTs) as a team. The Gamecocks are also No. 1 in the SEC (No. 10 nationally) in opponent 3-point percentage, allowing just 28.3% from behind the arc. The Gamecocks have the No. 4 scoring defense in the league as well, allowing just 72.0 points per game.

Texas A&M has gotten off to a nice start under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan winning 13-of-15 after starting out 2-2. Both of their losses over the last 15 games came in overtime at SMU on Dec. 7 and double-overtime at Tennessee on Jan. 13. They are 11-1 at Reed Arena this season, their only loss to Oklahoma State early back on Nov. 9. A&M is fresh off an 88-68 home win over Mississippi State (10-9, 2-4 SEC) on Wednesday earlier this week.

Five players average double-figures for the Aggies led by Southern Cal transfer Rashaun Agee who is averaging 13.8 points, 8.8 rebounds (2^nd in the SEC), 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Agee’s nine double-doubles are No. 2 in the SEC and No. 17 nationally. He’s averaging 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in six league contests so far this season. Sophomore Ruben Dominguez (13.1), Kansas transfer Rylan Griffen (11.3), NC State transfer Marcus Hill (10.4) and Creighton transfer Pop Isaacs (10.3) also average double-figures.

The Aggies have 10 players that average double-figure minutes as they play an aggressive, full court style defense. They lead the SEC and rank No. 14 nationally in turnovers forced (15.7) per game. A&M leads the SEC in steals (9.3) per game as well. The Aggies are No. 8 nationally in scoring offense (91.7 ppg). They also rank No. 2 in the SEC in 3-point attempts (30.3), 3-pointers made (11.2) per game and 3-point field goal percentage (36.9%).

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 1 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Reed Arena
TV: SEC Network+
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Will Johnson
    ANALYST: Tap Bentz
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network 
IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
    ANALYST: Casey Manning
SIRIUSXM: 386 | SXM APP: 976
WATCH: espn.com/watch/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
SERIES: Gamecocks lead, 10-6
IN COLLEGE STATION: Gamecocks lead, 5-3
SERIES TREND: Gamecocks have won 7-of-9 over the Aggies dating back to Feb. 16, 2019 with four-straight road wins in the stretch.
LAST MEETING: 76-72, Aggies win at Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 1, 2025. Wade Taylor IV hit seven 3s and had 25 points.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
5 – Per the ESPN Basketball Power Index for the 2025-26 season, South Carolina’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 5 in the nation. 15 of 16 SEC teams make up the top-20 in the country with Purdue (No. 6), Arizona (No. 12), Kansas State (No. 15), Michigan (No. 17) and Oklahoma State (No. 20) the only other schools outside the SEC in the top-20.
15-1 – The Gamecocks have a 15-1 record under Lamont Paris when shooting 50.0% or higher. The lone loss came in his 1st season in 2022-23 at Missouri.
20-1 – The Gamecocks are 20-1 record under Paris when scoring 80 or more points.
47-10 – The Gamecocks are 47-10 in 4 seasons under Paris when holding teams below 70 points (.825 win %).
29-3 – Carolina is 29-3 under Paris last season when holding its opponents below 40% shooting from the floor. The team was 7-0 last season and is 5-0 this season when accomplishing the defensive feat.
7-0  – The Gamecocks are 7-0 all-time under Paris when the team shoots 50.0 percent or higher from behind the arc.
7-0 – The team is also 7-0 all-time under Paris when dishing out 20 or more assists.  Five of those seven games came in the historic 2023-24 season with a high of 25 helpers in the win at Georgia on Feb. 3, 2024. Carolina dished out 24 assists on 31 made field goals in the 91-72, season-opening win against NC A&T (Nov. 4).
11-0 – The Gamecocks are 11-0 (3-0 this season) under Paris when the team makes 30 or more FGs. Carolina made 34 field goals (team high in the Paris era), shooting 57.6% (another team high in the Paris era) in an 87-58 victory over Radford on Nov. 18.
4-0 – The Gamecocks are 4-0 this season when the bench scores 40 or more points.
18-2 – Carolina is 18-2 over the last three seasons when Myles Stute scores 10 or more points (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season and vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Saturday).
11-2 – The Gamecocks are 11-2 over the last three seasons when Stute makes three or more 3s (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season and vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Saturday).
482 – Meechie Johnson (219) and Stute (263) have combined to make 482 3s in their college careers. Stute’s 260 career 3s are 19th amongst active career leaders in Division I. Johnson’s 219 3s rank 44th. The Gamecocks are one of NINE teams in NCAA Division I to have multiple players with 200+ career made 3s (Alabama, Gonzaga, Indiana, Louisville, Oklahoma, Purdue, San Diego & West Virginia the others).
517 – Stute (148), Johnson (135), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (118) and Kobe Knox (116) have combined to play 517 games at the NCAA Division I level bringing a wealth of experience to the Gamecocks’ backcourt. Stute (6th) and Johnson (22nd) both rank inside the top-25 on the active games played list in Division I.
1,000 – Stute scored his 1,000th career point with a 3-pointer early in the game vs. Radford (Nov. 18).
48 – Johnson scored his 1,000th career point at South Carolina with his final bucket in a recent victory over The Citadel (Dec. 13). He became the 48th  Gamecock to join the 1,000-career point club (first since former All-SEC guard AJ Lawson from 2018-21).
25 – Johnson became the 25th different player for South Carolina since the 2004-05 season to record a 30-point game when he had a career-high 33 points vs. Southern Miss on Nov. 9. Johnson, Brenton Williams (2014) and Devan Downey (2009) are the only Gamecocks to have a 30-point game with seven or more made 3s.
44 – Johnson became the 44th player in the SEC to hit seven or more 3s in a game over the last five seasons. Stute is also on that list, making seven 3s twice while at Vanderbilt in games at Temple (11/15/22) and at Texas A&M (1/28/23).
85% – Johnson made a career-high 13 free throws on a career-high 15 attempts in a recent win over OU (Jan. 20). He became the first Gamecock since Sindarius Thornwell (14-of-15 at UK on 1/21/17) to shoot 85% or better at the line in an SEC game on at least 15 attempts.
30 – Elijah Strong became the 26th different player (21st in SEC action) for SC since 2004-05 to have a 30-burger when he scored 30 points (18 in the first half) in just 25 minutes in a road win at LSU on Jan. 6. Strong was 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from 3 and 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
9 & 5 – Strong became just the 9th player in D1 this season to have a 30-point game in 25 minutes or less (5 of those 8 previous 30-burgers were against non-D1 opponents). He also became just the 5th player since 2004-05 to do it in an SEC game. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was the last player to do it when he had 31 pts in 24 min vs. LSU on Jan. 14, 2023.
164 – Carolina has hit 164 3s (8.6 3FG per game) in 19 games this season with a combined 96 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the 19 ball games (average of 5.1 different players hitting a 3FG per game).
30 – The Gamecocks’ 31-point win over Stetson (Dec. 6) was the team’s first victory by 30 or more points since defeating Florida A&M, 94-62, on Dec. 30, 2023 in the non-conference finale.
10 – Paris has been a part of 10 NCAA Tournament teams as a Division I assistant/head coach with his first appearance at South Carolina coming last season.
18 – He has been a part of 18, 20-win seasons as a college head and assistant coach.
.696 – In his 17 seasons as a collegiate assistant coach, teams associated with Paris were 497-217 (.696) with five conference titles and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching two Final Fours.
274 – The Gamecocks made 274 3s during the 2023-24 campaign, a new single-season program record.
344 – The team had just 344 turnovers in the 2023-24 season, the third-fewest all-time for a single season at Carolina.
8-3 – The Gamecocks were 8-3 in true road games during the 2023-24 season. The team won seven SEC games on the road, tying the 1996-97 SEC Champion squad for the most league road wins in program history since joining the SEC in 1991-92.
25 – Carolina held 25 opponents to less than 70 points in 2023-24, which T-4th nationally and led the SEC.
8-0 – The Gamecocks were 8-0 in 2023-24 when shooting 50.0% or better from the floor.
1998 – The team finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 25 in the final AP Poll, marking the first time the Gamecocks were ranked in the final top-25 poll since being slotted No. 14 in the final AP Poll of 1998.
1997 – The Gamecocks picked up the program’s first top-five road win since 1997 on Jan. 30, 2024 with a 63-59 victory over No. 5/5 Tennessee. The previous top-five road win was a 72-66 win at No. 3 Kentucky on March 2, 1997. The 59 points scored by Tennessee were a season-low for the Vols. It was also the first home loss of the season for UT, snapping a 13-game home winning streak by the Vols at Thompson-Boling Arena.

UP NEXT
South Carolina returns home for a late-night matchup against No. 16/16 Florida (14-5, 5-1 SEC) on Wednesday. Roy Philpott (pxp) and Rodney Terry (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast. Fans are encouraged to wear white to Colonial Life Arena.

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