Report: Collin Murray-Boyles reveals he will return to South Carolina next season

After his 24-point performance in South Carolina‘s 80-66 win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament, Collin Murray-Boyles will return to Columbia for his sophomore season, he tells The State.

The 6-foot-7 freshman averaged 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game during the regular season, but has improved mightily throughout conference play. He’s scored in double figures in 10 of South Carolina’s last 11 games, including a career-high 31-point performance against Vanderbilt on Feb. 10.

“Of course you have people talking,” he said, via The State’s report. “Like my brother, he’ll be talking about it and stuff. But my plan isn’t to be — like I want to be ready. I don’t wanna go in, get a contract and then have to go to the (NBA G-League) because I have to work on a couple things. I want to go in as prepared as possible so I can have the best chance of longevity.”

Now, Murray-Boyles can focus on helping lead his team to a deep run in the SEC Tournament and beyond. Their next step is against Auburn on Friday in the quarterfinals.

South Carolina will look to avenge its 101-61 loss to Auburn on Feb. 14 that saw the Tigers score 50 or more points in each half. That was the one and only time the two SEC programs matched up during the regular season and is the difference between the two program’s final SEC Tournament seeds despite both finishing 13-5 in conference play during the regular season.

“I remember what happened. Trying to get our get-back,” Collin Murray-Boyles said on the court after the Arkansas win. “But they’re a good team so it’s going to be tough again. But they’re not in the Jungle no more, so hopefully we can come out with a victory this time.”

Odds for South Carolina vs. Auburn

Coming into the game, Auburn is a 7.5-point favorite over South Carolina, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Tigers are currently listed at -320 for the money line as of Thursday evening, while the Gamecocks are sitting at +250.

The point total for the game is set at 141.5 points. The two squads scored a combined for 162 points during their previous matchup. Auburn ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (83.5), while South Carolina sits in the bottom three averaging 72.2 points per game. Still, if these two meet their season averages, the over will hit.

Read more here.