March 9, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (14-17, 4-14 SEC) has earned the No. 12 seed and will face No. 13 seed Mississippi State (9-21, 4-14 SEC) in the opening round of the 2013 SEC Tournament, set to be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., March 13-17.

2013 SEC Tournament Bracket

The Gamecocks and Bulldogs are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET start time on Wednesday, with the contest to be televised on the SEC Network with Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call. The Gamecocks and Bulldogs split the season series in 2013, with each team winning on its home court.

Wednesday’s contest will mark exactly one week since the Gamecocks earned a 79-72 win over the Bulldogs in Columbia behind a school record for SEC regular season play 38 points from junior guard Brenton Williams.

South Carolina owns a 16-21 all-time record in SEC Tournament play, which includes a 4-3 record in tournament games played in Nashville. Two of those victories in Nashville came against Mississippi State (2001, 2006).

South Carolina owns a 2-1 record against MSU in tournament play, with the last meeting between the two schools an 82-68 Bulldog victory in the second round in Tampa in 2009. Carolina won the previous meeting, a 59-44 victory in the opening round of the 2006 event in Nashville, and also claimed a 69-62 win in the opening round in 2001, also in Nashville.

The winner of the South Carolina versus Mississippi State contest will advance to face fifth-seeded Tennessee on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET, also televised on the SEC Network.

Continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com throughout the week for updates on Gamecock basketball.