Why a win over Clemson couldn't have come at a more perfect time for South Carolina

South Carolina isn’t there yet. Lamont Paris knows it. But a win over a top 25 team, one whom is the main in-state rival, is a good starting point.

Paris made it a point to schedule some tougher games this season. There have still been, of course, some gimme games along the way against mid-major opponents. The Gamecocks have also taken a trip to Assembly Hall to face Indiana and went down to Fort Myers to play Xavier.

They didn’t win either of these games and missed out on a chance to drastically improve their resume. But with one last opportunity to secure a quality win in non-conference play, they didn’t let it go by them.

In a back-and-forth duel, South Carolina came out on top with a 91-88 win over No. 25 Clemson in overtime on Tuesday. It’s just one win but it could prove to be the game that gets the ball rolling for the team as SEC play begins after the new year.

“We knew coming into tonight that we needed it,” senior guard Myles Stute said on Tuesday. “Dropped a couple earlier in the season that we really wanted to get. But us being guys that were on the team last year, we lost to Clemson at Clemson last year. So, we knew coming into the game tonight that we owe those guys over there.”

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It’s a big win for the team since it was their first Quad 1 victory of the season. Through their first 10 games, they had only beaten Q3 and Q4 teams. With the goal being to get back to the NCAA Tournament, this is one they had to have.

Fortunately, there will be plenty more opportunities to stack up quality wins, with all 18 conference games being categorized as Q1 or Q2. 16 of those will be Q1 games. It’s unclear what the magic number will be in terms of how many wins the Gamecocks would need to be in good standing for March. But with the potential for more than half of the conference to get in, it’s possible finishing .500 or better could be enough to secure an at-large bid.

There’s still a long way to go to get to that point, though. For as good as a win over Clemson was, South Carolina is still behind the pack in the SEC. It is the only team with three losses, even though an 8-3 record is nothing to scoff at. The Gamecocks sit at 85th in the NET rankings, with all other 15 teams inside the top 60.

It may seem like they are in a deep hole, which it does look that way based on the rankings, but a lot can change between now and the end of the regular season.

“Think about it, there’s 25 teams that get ranked and through the first six weeks, seven weeks, eight weeks, how many teams are in there?” Paris said, making the point that things will undoubtedly change by tournament time. “Somebody thought this team was really good; they’re not good as it turns out. Somebody thought that team was top 10; they’re no longer ranked.”

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While Paris doesn’t love to compare this year’s team to last year’s squad that won 26 games, he did point out that once last year’s team became ranked by the AP poll in February, they never fell out of the rankings again.

This isn’t to say Paris’ sole focus is earning a number next to his team’s name. But with a win against one of the better teams in the country, it does show that South Carolina isn’t far off from achieving that type of success down the road.

“I’m focused on growth. I am, honestly. I don’t just say that to say it. But I am focused on our growth,” Paris said. “But at the end of the day as a coach, you want to make sure that you scheduled hard for a reason. You want to reap the benefits of some of that. Wins like this begin to start that process. But it’s a great time to do it right as we get ready to roll into conference play. Just got to finish up before we do that. Have no letdowns and continue to focus on our ourselves.”

The Gamecocks will have two more non-conference games before moving into SEC play once the new year begins. They’ll take on Redford on Sunday followed by Presbyterian on Dec. 30. South Carolina will open its conference slate on the road against Mississippi State on Jan. 4.

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