Aug. 10, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference released its men’s basketball league schedule for 2013 on Friday. The schedule, which features an 18-game slate, will see each of South Carolina’s conference contests broadcast with eight games to be aired on the ESPN family of networks, seven on the SEC Network, one contest on CBS, one on FSN and one on CSS. The Gamecocks will host nine league contests at Colonial Life Arena next season, including matchups with Arkansas, Tennessee and first-year SEC member Missouri.

South Carolina will face Mississippi State, LSU, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Missouri in home-and-home series in 2013.

“We are extremely excited for the opportunities that the SEC schedule presents,” first-year head coach Frank Martin said. “Because of expansion, it is a new era in the conference and a new schedule format. I fully feel that after winning three of the past seven NCAA championships, the SEC is among the premier conferences in the country and will continue to challenge for championships in 2013.”

The Gamecocks kick off conference action away from Columbia for the second-straight season with a trip to Mississippi State (Jan. 9, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3), before returning home to host Auburn (Jan. 12, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network). A contest in Baton Rouge to face LSU (Jan. 16, TBA, ESPN3) follows before Vanderbilt (Jan. 19, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network) visits Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina travels to Missouri (Jan. 22, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU) for a mid-week matchup, marking the first meeting all-time between the two schools on the hardwood.

Carolina will host Arkansas (Jan. 26, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network) before ending the month of January at former SEC East rival Florida (Jan. 30, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Georgia (Feb. 2, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network) travels to Columbia, before the Gamecocks hit the road to face the reigning national champion Kentucky Wildcats (Feb. 5, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU) at Rupp Arena. South Carolina will host back-to-back home contests mid-way through February when Tennessee (Feb. 10, 1 p.m. ET, FSN) and LSU (Feb. 14, 7 p.m. ESPN/2) travel to Colonial Life Arena.

A contest at Alabama (Feb. 16, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network) follows, before Carolina returns home to host Ole Miss (Feb. 20, 7 p.m. ET, CSS). The Gamecocks make the short trip to Athens to face Georgia (Feb. 23, 2 p.m. ET, CBS) in a nationally televised contest on CBS, before Missouri (Feb. 28, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN/2) makes its first appearance in Colonial Life Arena in a Thursday night matchup. The Gamecocks close out the regular season with a road contest for their first-ever meeting with Texas A&M (March 2, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU), hosting Mississippi State (March 6, TBA, ESPN3) on Senior Night and the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt (March 9, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

The SEC Basketball Tournament semifinals and championship game will be broadcast nationally on ABC. The SEC Network will televise the tournament games on Wednesday and Thursday in addition to the Friday night games. ESPNU will televise the two afternoon games on Friday at the tournament, which this year will be played March 13-17 in Nashville, Tenn.

Below is a complete listing of South Carolina’s SEC contests for 2013.

Jan. 9, at Mississippi State, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3
Jan. 12, vs. Auburn, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Jan. 16, at LSU, TBA, ESPN3
Jan. 19, vs. Vanderbilt, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Jan. 22, at Missouri, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Jan. 26, vs. Arkansas, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Jan. 30, at Florida, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Feb. 2, vs. Georgia, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Feb. 5, at Kentucky, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Feb. 10, vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m. ET, FSN
Feb. 14, vs. LSU, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN/2
Feb. 16, at Alabama, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Feb. 20, vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m., CSS
Feb. 23, at Georgia, 2 p.m. ET, CBS
Feb. 28, vs. Missouri, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN/2
March 2, at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
March 6, vs. Mississippi State, TBA, ESPN3
March 9, at Vanderbilt, 1:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
March 13-17, TBA, SEC Network/ABC