Kentucky at South Carolina: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

Kentucky has taken care of business in back-to-back home matchups in SEC play, but it’s currently on a one-game losing streak on the road. Can the Cats respond in Columbia against the South Carolina Gamecocks?

It’s a chance to win a second straight in Colonial Life Arena, but also a chance to get revenge on the Cocks after a letdown inside Rupp Arena last season. And maybe most importantly, it’s another Quad 1 opportunity for Kentucky, potentially giving John Calipari’s squad its third on the year and fifth among Quad 1 and Quad 2 games overall.

Let’s preview the matchup.

How To Watch

No. 6 Kentucky (14-3) at South Carolina (15-3)
7 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Jan. 22 | Colonial Life Arena

• TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw, Alyssa Lang)
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 81 and on the SiriusXM App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Last Five

Kentucky: NET 18, KenPom 16

• 1/6: 87-85 W at Florida
• 1/9: 90-77 W vs. Missouri
• 1/13: 97-92 L (OT) at Texas A&M
• 1/17: 90-77 W vs. Mississippi State
• 1/20: 105-96 W vs. Georgia

South Carolina: NET 61, KenPom 64

• 1/6: 68-62 W vs. Mississippi State
• 1/9: 74-47 L at Alabama
• 1/13: 71-69 W (OT) vs. Missouri
• 1/16: 74-69 L vs. Georgia
• 1/20: 77-64 W at Arkansas

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 54-14 including an overall record of 21-9 in Columbia while John Calipari is 16-5 vs. USC individually and 0-1 vs. Lamont Paris.

The Cats lost the previous matchup against the Gamecocks, a 71-68 upset inside Rupp Arena last season — arguably the worst loss of the season. Oscar Tshiebwe went for 19 points and 12 rebounds while CJ Fredrick added 14 and Antonio Reeves went for 13. Meechie Johnson — USC’s current leading scorer — dropped a game-high 26 points in that one, followed by GG Jackson with 16 points.

The two teams have split the series 3-3 dating back to 2018, two of those wins for the Cocks coming in Columbia.

Kentucky at South Carolina Odds via FanDuel

Spread: Kentucky -4.5
Total: 156.5

One play from every win over USC since 1995

Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#21 – DJ Wagner
6-4 • 192 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
12.8 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.1 RPG

#12 – Antonio Reeves
6-6 • 195 • GUARD • SENIOR
19.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG

#1 – Justin Edwards
6-8 • 203 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
8.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG

#4 – Tre Mitchell
6-9 • 231 • FORWARD • GRADUATE STUDENT
13.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.4 APG

#2 – Aaron Bradshaw
7-1 • 226 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
7.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.9 BPG

Head Coach: John Calipari (32nd season, 15th at UK) – 846-256 overall, 401-116 at UK

South Carolina Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#5 – Meechie Johnson
6-2 • 184 • GUARD • JUNIOR
16.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.4 APG

#55 – Ta’Lon Cooper
6-4 • 200 • GUARD • SENIOR
9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.3 APG

#12 – Zachary Davis
6-7 • 194 • GUARD • SOPHOMORE
4.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.7 APG

#30 – Collin Murray-Boyles
6-7 • 231 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
6.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG

#2 – B.J. Mack 
6-8 • 270 • FORWARD • SENIOR
13.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG

Head Coach: Lamont Paris (2nd season at South Carolina, 7th overall): 26-24 at USC, 113-96 overall

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• The Wildcats are averaging 10.3 3-pointers per game. Only two UK teams in history (1993 and 1990) have averaged 10 or more made 3s per game for a season.
• Kentucky leads the nation in scoring at 91.6 points per game and topped 90 or more points in four straight SEC games for the first time since 1994.
• Kentucky has not played a single game at full strength this season
• The 2023-24 Kentucky Wildcats are the first in the program’s history to score 81 or more points in 16 of their first 17 games of the season

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Pregame Storylines

MYLES STUTE OUT VS. KENTUCKY

Remember the 6-6 guard, formerly of the Vanderbilt Commodores? Kentucky faced Stute eight times dating back to 2020-21, racking up a 2-6 individual record against the Cats. He transferred to South Carolina this past offseason and stepped in as an immediate starter while quickly earning career highs in points (9.9), assists (1.2) and minutes (26.2) through 17 games. Stute went down with a shoulder injury last week in USC’s loss to Georgia and was later ruled out 2-3 weeks with a left shoulder strain. He will not suit up against the Wildcats, a hit to the team’s offensive firepower — he’s shooting 38.7% from three on 4.7 attempts per game.

GOOD DEFENSE, BAD (AND SLOW) OFFENSE

South Carolina ranks No. 33 overall in scoring defense at 64.6 PPG while allowing just 40.8% shooting, good for No. 55. It is also No. 34 in effective FG% defense while giving up just 44.6% on twos at No. 21 overall. On the other end, the Gamecocks rank No. 66 overall in offensive efficiency, but score just 72.9 PPG (No. 229) while shooting 43.8% overall (No. 23) and 33.6% from three (No. 199). And their pace is slower than dirt, coming in at No. 347 in adjusted tempo and No. 338 in average possession length.

USC is going to try to muck things up against the best offense in college basketball.

REVENGE VS. MEECHIE JOHNSON

South Carolina was among the SEC’s worst teams a year ago, finishing with a record of 11-21 overall and 4-14 in conference play. Among those few league wins? The road upset at Kentucky, the biggest black eye on the schedule for the Wildcats. Johnson went for a game-high 26 points to help pull off the win. Now back for his junior campaign, he’s USC’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, good for No. 7 in the SEC. The 6-2 guard has hit the 20-point mark six times this season, posting career highs in FG percentage (43.3%), 3FG percentage (37.0%) and FT percentage (81.7%). The Gamecocks are 8-2 over the last two seasons when he has scored 20 points in a game.

Kentucky is looking for revenge while Johnson is looking for 20.

HOPING FOR HISTORY

Speaking of upsets, remember when the Cats traveled down to Columbia on Jan. 26, 2010? They were undefeated and ranked No. 1 overall at the time. Then Devan Downey happened, going for 30 points to pull off the upset. What’s the significance of that today? Well, this would be South Carolina’s highest-ranked win at home since that day, the program’s first-ever win over a top-ranked opponent. Kentucky moved up to No. 6 in the latest AP Poll on Monday, giving Lamont Paris a chance to earn his first ranked win as head coach.

The Wildcats would like to keep that streak alive at least one more game. Maybe the Cocks can beat No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville next Tuesday?

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