South Carolina basketball earned a historic win on Tuesday night in Tennessee.
The Gamecocks’ 63-59 upset win over No. 5 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena is the second win over a top-10 opponent in the last week and a major boost to the program’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
Ta’Lon Cooper had a team-high 18 points, including a 3-pointer with less than a minute left to put South Carolina up by six. Myles Stute, who had 13 points, hit two free throws with less than five seconds remaining to provide the final margin despite 31 points by Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht.
South Carolina (18-3, 6-2 SEC) won 79-62 over No. 6 Kentucky last Tuesday in Columbia, a victory that legitimized the program in Year 2 of the Lamont Paris era. Now the Gamecocks are true SEC contenders.
Tuesday’s win was also historic for South Carolina basketball in more than one way.
PROGRAM HISTORY:Best starts in South Carolina basketball history: Where Gamecocks rank after Kentucky win
South Carolina basketball’s last road top-5 win was in 1997
South Carolina’s last road win against a top-5 opponent was the stunning victory at No. 3 Kentucky on March 2, 1997 in the 1996-97 regular season finale at Rupp Arena. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 6 in the AP poll at the time.
The win also marked the third time since the 1996-97 season that the Gamecocks have beaten two top-10 teams in a season (2005-06 and 2019-20). It is the Gamecocks’ ninth road top-10 win since the 1949-50 season.
South Carolina basketball bracketology: Gamecocks becoming NCAA Tournament lock?
In bracketology projections earlier this week before Tuesday’s wins, South Carolina had moved ahead of the bubble.
Sports Illustrated and ESPN projections slotted South Carolina as an No. 8 seed, while the Washington Post had South Carolina as a No. 7 seed and CBS Sports put the Gamecocks as a No. 9 seed.
That should improve by a seed or two going into the weekend. The Tennessee win is South Carolina’s fourth Quadrant 1 win in the NET rankings. Only 12 other teams had that many Q1 wins before Tuesday night. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 49 in the NET ahead of the Tennessee game, a mark that will improve too.
South Carolina basketball’s remaining schedule
- Feb. 3: at Georgia
- Feb. 6: Ole Miss
- Feb. 10: Vanderbilt
- Feb. 14: at Auburn
- Feb. 17: LSU
- Feb. 24: at Ole Miss
- Feb. 28: at Texas A&M
- March 2: Florida
- March 6: Tennessee
- March 9: at Mississippi State
- SEC Tournament TBD (March 13-17)