Men's Basketball . February 5, 2024

Gamecocks Re-Enter Top-25 for First Time Since 2017

South Carolina Athletics

South Carolina ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina reentered the top-25 of the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Monday for the first time since February of 2017. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll.

The No. 15 rating in the AP Poll is the highest ranking for Carolina since being ranked No. 14 in the final AP Poll of the 1997-98 season.

The last time the Gamecocks were ranked in the regular season top-25 was Week 15 (Feb. 13, 2017) during the 2016-17 Final Four season. Carolina was 20-5 and ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the Coaches Poll.

Head coach Lamont Paris has led the team to a 19-3 overall record and a 7-2 start in SEC play this season. It’s the team’s best start since Carolina began the season 19-3 in 2015-16 and it’s just the fourth time the Gamecocks have started league play 7-2 or better since entering the SEC in 1991-92.

South Carolina recently defeated No. 6/6 Kentucky (Jan. 23) and No. 5/5 Tennessee (Jan. 30) in a three-game stretch, the first time the program has notched top-10 wins in a three-game span since 1968, per Elias Sports Bureau. The Gamecocks 63-59 win in Knoxville was just the third true road win this season over a top-five opponent (Arizona and James Madison the others on the list from victories back in November). It was the first top-five road win by the Gamecocks since defeating No. 3 Kentucky on March 2, 1997 at Rupp Arena.

Carolina is 7-2 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games this season and has five wins against teams currently ranked in the top-60 of the NET Rankings (No. 6 Tennessee, No. 26 Kentucky, No. 44 Mississippi State, No. 46 Grand Canyon and No. 53 Virginia Tech).

The team went 13-1 to start the season, the sixth 13-1 start or better in program history (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16 and 2023-24).

The Gamecocks welcome in Ole Miss (18-4, 5-4 SEC) on Tuesday night in a battle of top-five teams in the SEC standings. Fans are encouraged to wear white. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. (ET) with Roy Philpott (pxp) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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