What another rivalry win over Clemson means for South Carolina

On Tuesday night, South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris and his team knocked off the rival Clemson Tigers in overtime. The 91-88 victory is Paris’ second in three tries against that team from the Upstate.

But the win is much bigger than just another tally in the “W” column in the rivalry series.

Despite the up-and-down nature of the Gamecocks’ performances in their out-of-conference slate, the ranked win proved that South Carolina is capable of another strong season. Let’s take a look at what the Clemson victory means for USC moving forward.

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First, and perhaps most obviously, the win is a huge step toward potential NCAA Tournament viability. Beating the Tigers gives South Carolina its first Quad 1 triumph of the year and its first ranked win. USC entered the matchup ranked No. 99 in the NET rankings. That number will be much better when the rankings update. However, to keep it high, the Gamecocks will need to continue beating good teams. For reference, virtually every NCAA Tournament at-large team from last season had at least four Quad 1 victories. Getting to double digits in Quad 1 + Quad 2 wins was a near requirement for a bid, as well. South Carolina now has one with plenty of opportunities awaiting them after the New Year.

This win also means a lot for the Gamecocks’ confidence. On an individual note, Myles Stute, who went scoreless in Carolina’s previous two games, scored 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting and five three-pointers. From a team perspective, Lamont Paris’ group picked up a huge win over a good opponent despite not playing its best basketball and having to endure some questionable officiating. Especially after Clemson tied the score to force overtime, this one certainly qualifies as a “find a way” win. There will be plenty of times during SEC play when the Gamecocks will have to “find a way,” so Tuesday night could go a long way in establishing the precedent that this year’s team can replicate last year’s success in close games (16-4 in games decided by 10 points or fewer).

Tuesday’s effort proved the Gamecocks can rebound better than they have at earlier points this season. In four previous contests against power conference opponents, South Carolina was outrebounded 132-124. They also got beat on the glass against North Florida. When Clemson came to town, though, USC won the battle on the boards 35-28, despite the Tigers’ Ian Schieffelin being one of the top rebounders in America. After the game, both Collin Murray-Boyles and Myles Stute attributed the team’s increased effort level to the fan support inside Colonial Life Arena and said they believe it will propel the team forward into more showings like the one against the Tigers.

The game also showed the Gamecocks’ ability to win in a different style than usual. This year’s version of South Carolina basketball only plays two bigs as part of the rotation (Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle). Jordan Butler and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk play spot minutes but do not have consistent roles yet. Against Clemson, despite foul trouble for both starting post players, Coach Paris didn’t put the backup bigs in the game. Instead, Stute got the majority of the minutes at the 4-spot when one of CMB or Pringle was out. Stute battled down low, defended well, had five rebounds (all seemingly impactful ones, too), and blocked two shots. The smaller lineup created added spacing and opened passing lanes as all six Gamecocks who played at least 10 minutes logged multiple assists.

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For now, though, South Carolina has two more non-conference games before SEC play begins. On Sunday, a feisty Radford team will travel to Columbia, and then eight days later, the Gamecocks get in-state Presbyterian at Colonial Life Arena. USC can (and probably should) be 10-3 and riding a seven-game winning streak to start the conference slate. With how strong the SEC is this season (currently an astounding 152-20 combined in non-conference games), a .500 record in the league could be enough for Paris and the Gamecocks to go dancing once again.

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