Where South Carolina sits in latest AP poll ranking heading into SEC Tournament

After an up-and-down week, South Carolina finds itself still ranked heading into the postseason.

The Gamecocks (25-6, 13-5 SEC) checked in at No. 15 in this week’s edition of the AP poll on Monday.

South Carolina started off last week with a showdown for first place in the SEC. However, it came up just short as Tennessee played a solid game from start to finish to win the regular season title.

But the Gamecocks responded a few days later with a gutsy overtime win on the road against Mississippi State to close out the regular season. And now they’ll head into the SEC Tournament as the five seed.

In the NET rankings, South Carolina is ranked 49th. And in KenPom, the Gamecocks are at No. 47. But in hindsight, these rankings don’t hold much weight compared to the AP poll. And ultimately, there are bigger goals in mind than being ranked.

Looking forward, the Gamecocks will begin their run in the conference tournament on Thursday afternoon. They’ll face the winner of Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt in the 12/13 seeded matchup. Tip-off is at approximately 3:30 p.m. on SEC Network in Nashville.

South Carolina wraps up regular season with hard-fought overtime win over Mississippi State

By: Griffin Goodwyn

There’s no way to sugarcoat it – Wednesday’s loss to No. 4 Tennessee was a gut punch. South Carolina had an opportunity to earn a share of the SEC regular season title with a win over the Volunteers. But despite a late comeback, the Gamecocks came up just short and didn’t get the result they wanted.

South Carolina did get the result it wanted in its regular season finale against Mississippi State, though. The 93-89 overtime victory over the Bulldogs capped off an impressive regular season for the Gamecocks, who are poised to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.

With a Kentucky loss to Tennessee later today, the Gamecocks could earn a top-four SEC tournament seed, too. 

How it happened

South Carolina (25-6, 13-5 SEC) started off the game hot, jumping out to a five-point lead just four minutes into the game. The Gamecocks played clean basketball and were efficient from the field, making seven of its first 10 shots.

That first-half lead would eventually balloon to nine points by the eight-minute mark after a made three-pointer by Myles Stute. However, it would not stay that way for long as Mississippi State started settling into the game.

The Bulldogs slowly chipped away at South Carolina’s lead as the half went along. Over the next three minutes, Mississippi State would make its next four shots to close the gap to three points.

Eventually, the home team’s gradual chipping would carve a large hole in South Carolina’s lead. With just over five minutes remaining in the half, Josh Hubbard’s made free throw tied the game at 27 points apiece.

Mississippi State clawed back into the game as the Gamecocks struggled to take care of the basketball. South Carolina committed five turnovers in the span of three minutes late in the first half.

As the first half waned, the Gamecocks’ lack of composure on defense kept the score close as well. Two free throws by Josh Gray made it a 35-30 game with just under two minutes left. That lead would shrink to one point before the half after an errant pass found its way into the hands of Mississippi State, which scored a layup with six seconds remaining.

South Carolina headed into the second half with a 38-37 advantage after an up-and-down first half. But both teams continued to exchange blows after the halftime break. 

The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead of the game after Hubbard hit a three-pointer to kick off the second half. Meechie Johnson provided a quick answer for South Carolina with a three-pointer of his own 17 seconds later.

The Gamecocks did not look back after that moment, holding onto the lead the rest of the way. 

Mississippi State kept the game close throughout the second half, though. South Carolina’s lead never grew larger than seven points, and at multiple points, the score was tied again.

This was the case towards the end of game. The Bulldogs had an answer to both Zachary Davis’ three-point play and Collin Murray-Boyles second-chance layup to stay in the game.

As the clock ticked down, it seemed like B.J. Mack’s composure at the free-throw ultimately gave South Carolina the win. However, Jacobi Wrirght’s foul on Dashawn Davis with one second remaining proved to be costly. Davis made both his free throws to send the game to overtime.

The game still remained close after the second-half buzzer sounded. South Carolina’s lead grew as much as four points after Mack hit a long three-pointer, but Mississippi State cut that lead to one with 11 seconds left.

But Mack and Johnson’s efforts from the charity stripe would ultimately give South Carolina the win. The two combined to go 4-for-4 from the free throw line to clinch the 93-89 victory.

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