Gamecocks Host Tigers at 1 p.m. (ET) on Saturday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (11-10, 2-6 SEC) remains home and faces LSU (13-8, 1-7 SEC) at 1 p.m. (ET) on Saturday. The league game, originally scheduled for 6 p.m., was moved up due to inclement winter weather in the Columbia area.

All normal game day operations will be functioning for the new tip time.

Arena doors will open at noon. All fans and students will need to utilize the main entrance to Colonial Life Arena at the corner of Greene St. and Lincoln St. to enter the building. Alternate entrances will be closed on Saturday.

All University-controlled surface lots will be closed as well for the game. All season parking passes will be honored for entry into the Discovery Parking Garage. The garage will open at 10 a.m. and fans must enter via the Park St. entrance as the College St. entrance will be closed.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to use increased caution traveling as well as in parking lots and entrances around the arena due to slippery conditions from precipitation. Be patient if staffing throughout the arena is affected by conditions.

The most up-to-date and current road conditions for the Columbia area can be viewed on the South Carolina Department of Transportation website here.

Dave Weinstein (pxp) and Stephen Clark (analyst) will be on the call for SEC Network+ broadcast.

Rally towels will be available for fans and the first 1,500 students will receive a special edition rope at. There will also be free food for the first 250 students. For more information on claiming student tickets, click here.

The Gamecocks are looking to snap a two-game skid and notch the first season sweep of the Tigers since the 2003-04 season. Carolina defeated LSU on the road, 78-68, back on Jan. 6. Elijah Strong had a career-high 30 points to lead the Gamecocks to victory. Meechie Johnson had 19 points and six assists and Eli Ellis added 10 points off the bench. Carolina shot 57.1% (12-of-21) from 3 in the game, a program high mark in four seasons under head coach Lamont Paris.

In eight SEC contests, Johnson is averaging 17.6 points, 5.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He’s made 23-straight free throws in game action dating back to the 2:05 mark in the second half of the team’s victory over Oklahoma back on Jan. 20. Johnson is 86.4% (51-of-59) from the foul line in SEC action so far. He is one of just four players in the SEC to rank in the top-15 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 21 games, Carolina remains the SEC leader (No. 5 nationally) at the free throw line, shooting 79.0% (347-of-439) as a team.

LSU has dropped three-straight games and fell 80-66 at home to Mississippi State (11-10, 3-5 SEC) on Wednesday. UNLV transfer guard Dedan Thomas Jr. leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and assists (6.5 apg). He missed the team’s first five SEC games with a knee injury and returned to action at No. 19/21 Florida back on Jan. 20. Portland transfer Max Mackinnon (14.6 ppg), Mississippi State transfer Michael Nwoko (13.6 ppg) and Omaha transfer Marquel Sutton (13.0 ppg) also average double-figures for the Tigers. Sutton averages 8.0 rebounds per game to lead the team (No. 4 in the SEC). Nwoko is the SEC leader in field goal percentage (66.5%).

Carolina’s back-to-back NIT Championship teams from 2005 and 2006 will be honored at halftime with former players and staff in attendance for the game.

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 1 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Colonial Life Arena
TV: SEC Network+
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Dave Weinstein
    ANALYST: Stephen Clark
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: Gamecocks lead, 21-20
IN COLUMBIA: Tigers lead, 10-9
SERIES TREND: Gamecocks lead 3-2 over the last five meetings dating back to a 77-75 home win on Feb. 19, 2022.
LAST MEETING: Gamecocks defeated the Tigers 78-68 back on Jan. 6 thanks to a career-high 30 points from junior forward Elijah Strong.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
15 – Per the ESPN Basketball Power Index for the 2025-26 season, South Carolina’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 15 in the nation. 13 of the 16 SEC teams make up the top-20 in the country with five Big Ten schools and two programs from the Big 12 also 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).
525 – Stute (150), Johnson (137), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (120) and Kobe Knox (118) have combined to play 525 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).
176 – Carolina has hit 176 3s (8.4 3FG per game) in 20 games this season with a combined 104 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the 21 ball games (average of 5.0 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 hits the road and heads to Austin for just the second time in program history (first matchup was Jan. 23, 1982) to face Texas (12-9, 3-5 SEC) on Tuesday. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. (ET) with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

###