Gamecocks Face Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum Saturday

ATHENS, Ga. – South Carolina (12-16, 3-12 SEC) is on the road for a Saturday afternoon tilt at Georgia (19-9, 7-8 SEC). Tip is set for 3:30 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (pxp) and Pat Bradley (analyst) on the call.

The Bulldogs have won three-straight in the series dating back to last season. Georgia defeated the Gamecocks, 75-70, earlier this season back on Jan. 10. Carolina led by as many as 12 in the first half but a late 15-2 surge by the Bulldogs gave them the come-from-behind victory at Colonial Life Arena. Mike Sharavjamts led four Gamecocks in double-figures with 18 points. Kobe Knox had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Carolina is looking to bounce back from a 72-63 defeat to Kentucky earlier this week on Tuesday. A Sharavjamts 3-pointer with 2:52 to go pulled the Gamecocks within two, 59-57, but the team finished 3-of-12 down the stretch as the Wildcats pulled away late. Meechie Johnson led Carolina with 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Johnson has 10, 20-point games this season. Eight of those have come in SEC action, which is T-5^th most in the conference behind only Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Daylin Swain (Texas) and Keyshawn Hall (Auburn). The Cleveland, Ohio native and three-year starter for Carolina also had 10, 20-point games in the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament season en route to earning Second Team All-SEC honors. He’s had double-figures in 14-straight games with three consecutive 20-point performances in a recent stretch from Feb. 14 to Feb. 21.

In 15 SEC contests this season, Johnson is averaging 19.8 points, 4.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He is one of just four players in the SEC to rank in the top-10 in scoring and top-five in assists per game in SEC play.  He is also one of just four players in the SEC this season averaging at least 17.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Thru 28 games, Carolina remains the SEC leader (No. 8 nationally) at the free throw line, shooting 78.9% (476-of-603) as a team. Mike Sharavjamts’ career-best 88% clip leads the team. The Gamecocks also rank in the top-five in the SEC in turnovers per game (9.9) and 3-point defense (31.6%).

Georgia has won 2-of-3 with an 86-78 road win at Kentucky on Feb. 17 and a 91-80 home victory over Texas on Feb. 21. The Bulldogs fell 88-80 at No. 25/21 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night at Memorial Gym earlier this week snapping their two-game win streak. Georgia leads the nation in fastbreak points (20.2) and blocks (6.3) per game. They have the No. 5 scoring offense in the country, averaging 89.8 points per contest. The Bulldogs are No. 4 in the SEC in offensive rebounds per game (13.4) and No. 5 in the league in rebounds per game (38.6). Defensively, they lead the SEC in turnovers forced per game (14.0) ranking No. 2 in the league in steals per game (8.3).

Jeremiah Wilkinson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.7 points per game. Blue Cain (13.7), Marcus Millender (11.8) and Kanon Catchings (10.9) also average double figures. All four players have made 40 or more 3s this season with Millender, who comes off the bench in a sixth man role, shooting the ball at an effective 39.5% (51of-129) clip from behind the arc. He and Catchings are both above 40% from 3 in SEC play. Somoto Cyril averages 9.8 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game.

GAME INFORMATION
TIME: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
VENUE: Stegeman Coliseum
TV: SEC Network
     PLAY-BY-PLAY: Mike Morgan
     ANALYST: Pat Bradley
RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network 
IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game
    PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott
    ANALYST: Casey Manning
SIRIUSXM: 380 | SXM APP: 970
WATCH: espn.com/watch/
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
SERIES: Gamecocks lead, 64-63
IN ATHENS: Bulldogs lead, 35-23
SERIES TREND: Bulldogs are 5-2 over the last four seasons after Gamecocks had a 12-game win streak in the series that spanned six seasons from Jan. 4, 2017 to Jan. 28, 2023.
LAST MEETING: Bulldogs won 75-70 earlier this season on Jan. 10 at Colonial Life Arena.

NUMBERS OF NOTE
9 – Per the ESPN Basketball Power Index for the 2025-26 season, South Carolina’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 9 in the nation. The Gamecocks are one of seven teams from the SEC in the top-20 (as of Feb. 26).
16-2 – The Gamecocks have a 16-2 record under Lamont Paris when shooting 50.0% or higher. One of the losses came at Mizzou in Lamont Paris’ first season in 2023 and the other was Tuesday at Texas.
21-2 – The Gamecocks are 21-2 record under Paris when scoring 80 or more points. Both losses came in OT at home this season to Virginia Tech (Dec. 2) and LSU (Jan. 31).
47-10 – The Gamecocks are 47-10 in 4 seasons under Paris when holding teams below 70 points (.825 win %).
29-4 – Carolina is 29-4 under Paris last season when holding its opponents below 40% shooting from the floor. The team was 7-0 last season and is 5-1 this season when accomplishing the defensive feat.
8-0  – The Gamecocks are 8-0 all-time under Paris when the team shoots 50.0% or higher from behind the arc. Carolina shot 57.1% (12-of-21) from 3 in a road win at LSU (Jan. 6). It was the highest 3-pt % for the team in the Paris era.
8-0 – The team is also 8-0 all-time under Paris when dishing out 20 or more assists.  Five of those seven 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).
12-0 – The Gamecocks are 12-0 (4-0 this season) under Paris when the team makes 30 or more FGs. Carolina made 34 field goals (team high in the Paris era), shooting 57.6% in an 87-58 victory over Radford on Nov. 18.
4-0 – The Gamecocks are 4-0 this season when the bench scores 40 or more points.
18-3 – Carolina is 18-3 over the last three seasons when Myles Stute scores 10 or more points (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season, vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Jan. 3 and at Texas A&M on Jan. 24).
11-3 – The Gamecocks are 11-3 over the last three seasons when Stute makes three or more 3s (only losses at No. 16/16 Indiana last season, vs. No. 11/11 Vanderbilt on Jan. 3 and at Texas A&M on Jan. 24).
552 – Stute (156), Johnson (144), transfers Mike Sharavjamts (127) and Kobe Knox (125) have combined to play 552 games at the NCAA Division I level bringing a wealth of experience to the Gamecocks’ backcourt. Stute (6th) and Johnson (T-21st) both rank inside the top-25 on the active games played list in Division I.
1,000 – Stute scored his 1,000th career point with a 3-pointer early in the game vs. Radford (Nov. 18).
1,000 – Knox scored his 1,000th career point with a pair of free throws late in the game vs. LSU (Jan. 31).
21 – Knox matched his career-high with 21 points at Alabama (Feb. 14). He last scored 21 as a redshirt freshman at Grand Canyon vs. Sam Houston State in the WAC Tournament on March 10, 2023.
48 – Johnson scored his 1,000th career point at South Carolina with his final bucket in a victory over The Citadel (Dec. 13) earlier this season. He became the 48th  Gamecock to join the 1,000-career point club (first since former All-SEC guard AJ Lawson from 2018-21).
25 – Johnson became the 25th different player for South Carolina since the 2004-05 season to record a 30-point game when he had a career-high 33 points vs. Southern Miss on Nov. 9. Johnson, Brenton Williams (2014) and Devan Downey (2009) are the only Gamecocks to have a 30-point game with seven or more made 3s.
58 – Johnson is the 58th player (12th this season) in the SEC to hit seven or more 3s in a game over the last five seasons with his seven made 3s against Southern Miss. 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).
85% – Johnson made a career-high 13 free throws on a career-high 15 attempts in a win over OU (Jan. 20). He became the first Gamecock since Sindarius Thornwell (14-of-15 at UK on 1/21/17) to shoot 85% or better at the line in an SEC game on at least 15 attempts.
100% – Johnson was 10-for-10 (100%) at the line at Texas A&M (Jan. 24). He became the fifth Gamecock since 2004-05 (first since Gregory “GG” Jackson II went 11-for-11 at Miss. St. on 2/28/23) to make 10 or more free throws without a miss in an SEC game.
2017 – Johnson had a career-high 35 points at Texas on Feb. 3. He was an efficient 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the floor. Johnson became the first Gamecock since Sindarius Thornwell in 2017 to have multiple 30-point games in the same season. It’s the 27th time (22nd in SEC action) a Gamecock has had a 30-point game since 2004-25.
10 – Johnson has 10, 20-point games this season. He’s scored 20 or more 24 times in college, all at South Carolina. He had a career-best 10, 20-point games in 2023-24.
30 – Elijah Strong became the 26th different player (21st in SEC action) for SC since 2004-05 to have a 30-burger when he scored 30 points (18 in the first half) in just 25 minutes in a road win at LSU on Jan. 6. Strong was 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from 3 and 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
9 & 5 – Strong became just the 9th player in D1 this season to have a 30-point game in 25 minutes or less (5 of those 8 previous 30-burgers were against non-D1 opponents). He also became just the 5th player since 2004-05 to do it in an SEC game. Alabama’s Brandon Miller was the last player to do it when he had 31 pts in 24 min vs. LSU on Jan. 14, 2023.
201 – Carolina has hit 201 3s (7.7 3FG per game) in 26 games this season with a combined 122 different players hitting a shot from behind the arc in the 25 ball games (average of 4.7 different players hitting a 3FG per game).
12 – South Carolina shared the sugar opening night with 24 assists in a win over NC A&T. All 12 players who played in the game recorded a helper. Per Stathead (database dates back to 2004-05 season), the Gamecocks are the 37th team in Division I to have a game where 12 or more players had an assist.
80 – South Carolina scored 80 or more points in its first four games of the season for the first time since 1970-71, a team led by Hall of Fame head coach Frank McGuire.
95+ – The Gamecocks scored 95+ points in consecutive games to end non-con for the first time since the 1970-71 season when Carolina beat Duke, 98-78, on 12/12/70 and Maryland, 96-70, on 12/16/70.
97 – South Carolina scored 97 points in a win vs. Mississippi Sate on Feb. 21. It was the most points in the Paris era over the last four seasons and the fourth-most ever for the program in an SEC game (have scored 90+ 18 times since joining SEC in 1991-92).
30 – The Gamecocks’ 31-point win over Stetson (Dec. 6) was the team’s first victory by 30 or more points since defeating Florida A&M, 94-62, on Dec. 30, 2023 in the non-conference finale.
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 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 returns to Colonial Life Arena for the home regular season finale to host Tennessee (20-8, 10-5 SEC) on Senior Night next Tuesday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. (ET) with Kevin Fitzgerald (pxp) and Perry Clark (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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