Gamecocks Move Up Again in Both Major Polls

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (24-5 overall, 12-4 SEC) moved up to No. 17 in the AP Top-25 Poll and No. 16 USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday. This mark’s the fifth-straight week the team has been ranked in the top-25 of both major polls.

This is the latest in the season the Gamecocks have been ranked since being slotted No. 14 in the final AP Poll of the 1997-98 season (March 9, 2018).

South Carolina won a pair of games last week with a 70-68 win at Texas A&M last Wednesday (Feb. 28) and an 82-76 comeback victory over No. 24/24 Florida at home on Saturday (March 2).

The victory in College Station marked the team’s sixth SEC road win. The six road wins are the second most SEC wins away from home in a single season. The 1996-97 team won seven games away from home en route to the program’s first and only SEC Championship. The Gamecocks are 10-3 away from home and on a neutral court this season, the best mark in the SEC.

The team’s 12 SEC wins mark the eighth time the program has had double-digit league wins since joining the conference in 1991-92. The 12 league wins are tied for the second most all-time in a single season with the 2016-17 season.

Earlier this season, the Gamecocks won seven-straight SEC games in a stretch from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10, the team’s longest win streak in SEC play since starting the conference slate 11-0 during the 1996-97 season.

The win streak featured a pair of top-10 wins over then No. 6/6 Kentucky (Jan. 23) and No. 5/5 Tennessee (Jan. 30). The victories came in a three-game stretch, marking the first time the program recorded top-10 wins in a three-game span since 1968, per Elias Sports Bureau. The Gamecocks 63-59 win in Knoxville was just the fourth true road win this season over a top-five opponent (Arizona, James Madison and Clemson also on the list). It was the first top-five road win by the Gamecocks since defeating No. 3 Kentucky on March 2, 1997 at Rupp Arena.

This year’s squad recorded just the third 21-3 or better start in program history (2015-16, 1969-70 the others). The team’s 13-win improvement from last season is the single-greatest turnaround in program history (previous was 11 win improvement from 2002-03 to 2003-04).

Carolina is 10-3 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games this season and has seven wins against teams currently ranked in the top-60 of the NET Rankings (No. 5 Tennessee, No. 20 Kentucky, No. 32 Mississippi State, No. 33 Florida, No. 54 Texas A&M, No. 55 Grand Canyon and No. 58 Virginia Tech).

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