To earn more respect nationally, South Carolina must take down No. 24 Clemson on Wednesday
There might not be a better story in college basketball right now than what’s going on at South Carolina. The Gamecocks have surprised a lot of people in the early going.
But even at 7-0, it hasn’t been good enough to impress everyone just yet. In Monday’s AP poll, South Carolina only received nine votes. Meanwhile, in-state rival Clemson landed at the No. 24 spot after upending a ranked Alabama squad in Tuscaloosa.
Fortunately, the Gamecocks will have a shot to prove they belong in the rankings when they, ironically enough, face the Tigers on Wednesday.
“I’m so excited not only just for the environment but they’re also ranked 24th in the country,” guard Meechie Johnson said. “You’re going down there with a lot you can take away from. So it’s an exciting game and we’re all just really excited for it.”
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Through seven games, the Gamecocks haven’t played enough quality opponents to garner any serious consideration. They’ve beaten two Quad 2 opponents, one Quad 3 and four Quad 4.
Their best win up to this point came against Grand Canyon in the Arizona Tip-Off Tournament title game. The Lopes checked in at No. 58 in the first NCAA NET rankings of the year.
In order to earn some respect, South Carolina knows it has to beat Clemson. The Tigers would be a Quad 1 team. So winning against them would go a long way for the Gamecocks in getting to where they want to be.
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“We know that we’ve got to get past them to get on that board,” Johnson said. “This is that game for us. This is that one. We feel like if we can get this one and take care of business on Saturday, we’ll be in there. So we’re excited. They’re 24, they know we’re coming in 100 (percent). But it’s going to come down to who want it more like I said. So we’re ready for it.”
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If South Carolina takes care of business on Wednesday, it should be in good shape to be ranked. As of right now, it sits at No. 29 in the NET rankings. But two road wins this week, including a Saturday tilt with East Carolina, would be hard for the voters to say no to.
Either way, the Gamecocks still need to get through Clemson in order for any possible ranking to happen. And head coach Lamont Paris knows how big this game is and what’s going to be at stake.
“Certainly, it makes for a great game in that they are ranked and both teams are undefeated. It’ll be great for the state, fun for both schools and should be a lot of fun,” Paris said. “There’s no more or less juice to it, honestly. We’ve got to continue to try and get better. It’ll be our first true road game. So just seeing how guys respond to adversity that will definitely hit and how do we come out of the gates and how do we stick to the script and all the things that go along with that.”
South Carolina will head to the Upstate and face Clemson at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
