Gamecocks Back in Action Wednesday vs. Presbyterian

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (2-0) welcomes Presbyterian (3-1) for a midweek tilt at Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (ET) with doors opening 1 hour prior.

Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) will be on the call for the non-conference matchup on SEC Network+.

The game is the third of a four-game homestand to open the 2025-26 season for the Gamecocks.

Carolina will look to build off two solid offensive performances in its first two contests of the season. The Gamecocks have made 30 3s in the team’s first two games, 14 in the opener against NC A&T (Nov. 4) and 16 against Southern Miss (Nov. 9). Carolina made double-digit 3s just five times all of last season.

Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson provided late game heroics Sunday night as he scored 14 of the team’s final 16 points from the 3:39-minute mark on in regulation to help force overtime in an 83-79, comeback victory over the Golden Eagles. Johnson scored a career-high 33 points and hit a career-best seven shots from behind the 3-point line. He became the first Gamecock to hit seven 3s in a game since Brenton Williams made seven triples on March 8, 2014 in a 74-62 win at Mississippi State. Freshman guard Eli Ellis had his first 20-point game in Garnet and Black, scoring all 20 bench points for Carolina. Senior transfer guard Mike Sharavajamts added 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in his first double-figure outing as a Gamecock.

Presbyterian is fresh off a 63-61 victory on Monday night at Georgia State and has won three-straight games after losing its season opener on Nov. 3 to Navy. Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 22 points, going 5-of-7 from behind the arc in true road victory over the Panthers. Thru four games, Jonah Pierce is averaging a double-double. He’s the team’s leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and rebounder (10.5 rpg).

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 7 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Colonial Life Arena
TV: SEC Network+
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Dave Weinstein
    ANALYST: John Williams
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network 
IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
    ANALYST: Casey Manning
SIRIUSXM: 381 | SXM APP: 981
WATCH: espn.com/watch/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
SERIES: Gamecocks lead, 34-8
IN COLUMBIA: Gamecocks lead, 25-4
SERIES TREND: Carolina has won 11 of last 12 matchups – this will be just the sixth matchup in the 2000s.
LAST MEETING: 69-59 Carolina victory last season in non-conference finale on Dec. 30, 2024. After trailing by eight at halftime, the Gamecocks outscored the Blue Hose 45-27 in the second half en route to the double-digit victory. Future NBA Lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles led Carolina with 22 points and nine rebounds.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
11-1 – The Gamecocks have an 11-1 record under Lamont Paris when shooting 50.0% or higher. The lone loss came in his 1st season in 2022-23 at Missouri.
14-0 – The Gamecocks are 14-0 record under Paris when scoring 80 or more points.
40-9 – The Gamecocks are 40-9 in 3 seasons under Paris when holding teams below 70 points (.816 win %).
432 – Johnson (192) and Stute (240) have combined to make 432 3s in their college careers. Stute’s 240 career 3s are T-11th amongst active career leaders in Division I. Johnson’s 185 3s rank No. 39.
987 – Stute (987 career pts) is closing in on 1,000 career pts.
452 – Stute (134), Johnson (118), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (101) and Kobe Knox (99) have combined to play 452 games at the NCAA Division I level bringing a wealth of experience to the Gamecocks’ backcourt. Stute (T-4th) and Johnson (T-24th) both rank inside the top-25 on the active games played list in Division I.
25 – Johnson became the 25th different player for South Carolina since the 2004-05 season to record a 30-point game. He, Brenton Williams (2014) and Devan Downey (2009) are the only Gamecocks to have a 30-point game with seven or more made 3s.
43 – Johnson became the 43rd player in the SEC to hit seven or more 3s in a game over the last five seasons. 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).
7-0 – Carolina was 7-0 last season when holding its opponents below 40.0% shooting from the floor.
6-0  – The Gamecocks are 6-0 all-time under Paris when the team shoots 50.0 percent or higher from behind the arc.
30 – Carolina has hit 30 3s in the first two games of the season with a combined 14 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the two ball games.
6-0 – The team is also 6-0 all-time under Paris when dishing out 20 or more assists.  Five of those six 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).
8-0 – The Gamecocks are 8-0 under Paris when the team makes 30 or more FGs. Carolina made 31 shots in the season-opener, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor.
28.8% – The Carolina defense held Arkansas to just 28.8% (15-of-52) from the field in a 72-53 win on March 1 last season, the lowest opponent FG-percentage in the Lamont Paris era at SC. The Gamecocks held Arkansas to just 14 points in the 1st half. With the win, Paris improved to 3-0 at Carolina against John Calipari, the winningest coach in men’s college basketball.
34 – The team made 34 free throws in an 84-69 win over Texas on Feb. 22 last season, the most in the Lamont Paris era at Carolina. The last time the Gamecocks hit 30 or more free throws in a game was 35 made foul shots in the four OT thriller against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.
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 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 is off the rest of the week before returning home to face Radford (2-0) next Tuesday in an unbracketed game part of the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off. The contest starts at 7 p.m. (ET) with Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

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