Gamecocks Back Home This Week, Host No. 19/21 Florida Wednesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) returns to Colonial Life Arena for a pair of games this week. The Gamecocks will first welcome No. 19/21 Florida (14-6, 5-2 SEC), the defending National Champions, Wednesday night. Fans are encouraged to wear white for what has been deemed a whiteout game at Colonial Life Arena.

Tip is set for 9 p.m. (ET) with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Rodney Terry (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

The first 1,500 students in The Cockpit will get a special, white jersey upon entry. There will also be free food for the first 250 students. For more information on claiming student tickets, click here.

The Gamecocks are seeking to get back on track after a tough road loss at Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) last Saturday. Meechie Johnson continued his standout play with 26 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal. The Cleveland, Ohio native was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line in College Station and has made 19-straight free throws dating back to the 2:05 mark of the team’s victory over Oklahoma (Jan. 20) last week. Kobe Knox also had another solid game as he matched his season-high again with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

In seven SEC contests, Johnson is averaging 18.7 points, 5.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He’s logged career-best shooting splits of 43.2% (35-of-81) from the floor, 35.9% (14-of-39) from 3 and 85.5% (47-of-55) from the foul line in SEC action so far. Johnson is one of just four players in the SEC to rank in the top-10 in scoring and top-five in assists per game in SEC play.  He is also one of just four players in the SEC this season averaging at least 15.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game.

Thru 20 games, Carolina remains the SEC leader (No. 8 nationally) at the free throw line, shooting 78.7% (332-of-422) as a team. The Gamecocks are No. 3 in the SEC (28^th nationally) in opponent 3-point percentage, allowing just 29.8% from behind the arc. Carolina and No. 2/3 UCONN are the only high major teams in the country holding opponents below 30.0% from 3 at a 3-point shot rate of less than 35.0% via KenPom. The Gamecocks also have the No. 5 scoring defense in the league, allowing just 73.0 points per game.

The Gators are looking to bounce back from a 76-67 home loss to Auburn on Saturday. Florida had won five-straight games, scoring 90 or more points in four of those contests, leading into the loss to the Tigers. The Gators are led by junior forward Thomas Haugh, who averages 17.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Junior forward Alex Condon (13.4), junior center Rueben Chinyelu (11.9), Arkansas transfer guard Boogie Fland (11.3) and Princeton transfer guard Xaivan Lee (11.2) all average double-figures. Haugh is averaging 18.7 points in league action and Chinyelu is averaging a double-double with 14.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Chinyelu’s 11.0 rebound per game average on the season is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 5 nationally.

Florida has one of the best, deepest front courts in the country and leads the nation in rebounds (46.2) and offensive rebounds (17.2) per game. They are also No. 1 in the country in rebound margin (+15.4).

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 9 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Colonial Life Arena
TV: SEC Network
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Roy Philpott
    ANALYST: Rodney Terry
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network 
IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
   PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
   ANALYST: Casey Manning
SIRIUSXM: 374 | SXM APP: 374
WATCH: espn.com/watch/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
SERIES: Gators lead, 50-29
IN COLUMBIA: Gators lead, 25-16
SERIES TREND: Gators lead 7-6 over the last 13 meetings dating back to a 57-53 Gamecock win on Jan. 18, 2017.
LAST MEETING: 88-67 Gator win at the O’Connell Center on Feb. 15, 2025. Florida hit 14 3s and shot 70.4% (19-of-27 FGs) in the second half of the victory.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
13 – Per the ESPN Basketball Power Index for the 2025-26 season, South Carolina’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 13 in the nation. 15 of the 16 SEC teams make up the top-20 in the country with Arizona (No. 7), Purdue (No. 9),  BYU (No. 11), Michigan (No. 16) and Kansas State (No. 17) 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% or higher from behind the arc. Carolina shot 57.1% (12-of-21) from 3 in a recent road win at LSU (Jan. 6). It was the highest 3-pt % for the team in the Paris era.
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.
18-3 – Carolina is 18-3 over the last three seasons when Myles Stute scores 10 or more points (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season, vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Jan. 3 and at Texas A&M on Jan. 24).
11-3 – The Gamecocks are 11-3 over the last three seasons when Stute makes three or more 3s (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season, vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Jan. 3 and at Texas A&M on Jan. 24).
487 – Meechie Johnson (221) and Stute (266) have combined to make 487 3s in their college careers. Stute’s 266 career 3s are 19th amongst active career leaders in Division I. Johnson’s 221 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).
521 – Stute (149), Johnson (136), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (119) and Kobe Knox (117) have combined to play 521 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 victory over The Citadel (Dec. 13) earlier this season. 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.
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.
100% – Johnson was 10-for-10 (100%) at the line at Texas A&M (Jan. 24). He became the fifth Gamecock since 2004-05 (first since Gregory “GG” Jackson II went 11-for-11 at Miss. St. on 2/28/23) to make 10 or more free throws without a miss in an SEC game.
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.
54 – Johnson is the 54th player (8th this season) in the SEC to hit seven or more 3s in a game over the last five seasons with his seven made 3s against Southern Miss. 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).
173 – Carolina has hit 173 3s (8.7 3FG per game) in 20 games this season with a combined 101 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the 20 ball games (average of 5.1 different players hitting a 3FG per game).
12 – South Carolina shared the sugar opening night with 24 assists in a win over NC A&T. All 12 players who played in the game recorded a helper. Per Stathead (database dates back to 2004-05 season), the Gamecocks are the 37th team in Division I to have a game where 12 or more players had an assist.
80 – South Carolina scored 80 or more points in its first four games of the season for the first time since 1970-71, a team led by Hall of Fame head coach Frank McGuire.
95+ – The Gamecocks scored 95+ points in consecutive games to end non-con for the first time since the 1970-71 season when Carolina beat Duke, 98-78, on 12/12/70 and Maryland, 96-70, on 12/16/70.
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 remains home and host LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) on Saturday at 6 p.m. (ET) at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks won 78-68 at LSU back on Jan. 6. Carolina’s back-to-back NIT Championship teams from 2005 and 2006 will be honored at halftime of the game. Kevin Fitzgerald (pxp) and Rodney Terry (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

###