Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
South CarolinaGamecocks

South Carolina downs No. 5 Tennessee, earning second top-10 win in last week

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•01/30/24
Untitled design-361
Jan 30, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Ta'Lon Cooper (55) moves the ball against Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Gainey (2) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The South Carolina basketball team upset a top-10 team for the second time in a week, downing No. 5 Tennessee on the road this time by a 63-59 score after knocking off No. 6 Kentucky at home last week.

Both wins provide massive NCAA Tournament ammunition for the Gamecocks, who are comfortably in the field and playing for seeding at this point, having improved to 18-3 on the season and 6-2 in SEC play.

South Carolina controlled things from the opening tip against Tennessee, though the margin wasn’t ever big in the contest.

Tennessee star Dalton Knecht did everything humanly possible to will the Volunteers to a win, including hitting multiple 3-pointers in the final minute of the game. That was OK with South Carolina, which let Knecht get his but made him work for everything.

The Tennessee star finished with 31 points but needed 24 shots to get there.

The South Carolina staff was happy with how his team defended the SEC star in the first half, something that is certainly not easy to do.

“Done a pretty good job,” coach Lamont Paris said at halftime, speaking to SEC Network sideline reporter Alyssa Lang. “We let him get loose on one layup in transition, that was a big part of what we said we didn’t want to do. But for the most part the points that he’s gotten he’s earned.”

South Carolina was led in the contest by terrific backcourt play, as a number of players chipped in nicely.

Top 10

  1. 1

    DJ Lagway

    Florida QB to return vs. LSU

    Breaking
  2. 2

    Dylan Raiola injury

    Nebraska QB will play vs. USC

  3. 3

    Elko pokes at Kiffin

    A&M coach jokes over kick times

  4. 4

    SEC changes course

    Alcohol sales at SEC Championship Game

    New
  5. 5

    Bryce Underwood

    Michigan prepared to offer No. 1 recruit $10.5M over 4 years

View All

Steady veteran Ta’Lon Cooper led the way with 18 points in the contest, finishing 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, BJ Mack finished with 16 points, on a rather inefficient 4-of-15 shooting.

The last double-figure scorer for South Carolina in the contest was Myles Stute, who returned from injury after missing a few contests. He ended the game with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 beyond the arc.

The win was South Carolina’s fourth in a row, with the Gamecocks picking up some real steam as the conference race heats up near the midway point.

Next up for South Carolina is a road trip to Georgia on Saturday. That game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET with a broadcast on the SEC Network.