Live Updates: No. 8 Tennessee at South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 8 Tennessee (12-2, 2-0 SEC) is back on the road in conference play Saturday afternoon, playing at South Carolina (7-7, 0-1) in a 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time tipoff from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.

Follow along for live in-game updates on The General’s Quarters

The Vols opened their SEC schedule with a road win at Ole Miss last week, 63-59, then came home to thump Mississippi State 87-53 Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. 

Tennessee is looking for its first 3-0 start in SEC play since 2018-19, when the Vols started 11-0 in the league in the middle of the program-record 19-game win streak. 

South Carolina, under first-year head coach Lamont Paris, lost at Vanderbilt 84-79 in overtime on Tuesday. In November the Gamecocks dropped games against Colorado State, Davidson, Furman and George Washington. UAB and East Carolina, under first-year head coach and former Tennessee associate head coach Mike Schwartz, beat South Carolina in December. 

Tennessee at South Carolina: How to watch, stream, listen

Tipoff Time: 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday

Location: Colonial Life Arena

TV: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald — play-by-play; Mark Wise — analyst)

Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Bob Kesling – play-by-play – Bert Bertelkamp, analyst) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

A closer look at South Carolina

South Carolina is ranked No. 201 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, the only SEC team currently outside of the top 100 in the rating system. The Gamecocks are ranked 244th in adjusted offensive efficiency, averaging 99.1 points scored per 100 possessions. They’re 157th in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 101.6 points per 100 possessions.

Tennessee moved up to No. 2 overall in the KenPom ratings after the win over Mississippi State on Tuesday. The Vols have been ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency for six weeks and are up to No. 36 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Lamont Paris was hired to replace former South Carolina coach Frank Martin. Paris went 87-72 in five seasons at Chattanooga after spending the previous seven seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. 

Five-star freshman power forward GG Jackson leads Gamecocks 

The biggest win for Paris came over the summer, when South Carolina flipped five-star power forward GG Jackson. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound prospect out of Columbia, S.C., was previously committed to South Carolina. He leads the Gamecocks in scoring, at 16.9 points per game, and rebounding, at 7.5.

“There’s a great get for (Paris) right off the bat,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on Friday. “To be able to go flip him in the recruiting process and get him to stay home and go to South Carolina and you know he’s a guy that can create. 

“They look for him to do a lot of that and he gets out in the open court or he gets the ball— I’ve watched him obviously many years through high school and he’s an explosive player that can really get going.”

Tennessee five-star freshman wing Julian Phillips is from Blythewood, S.C., roughly 20 miles north of Columbia. He played against Jackson during his sophomore and junior seasons of high school, before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri.

“It is pretty exciting to get to play against him on the college stage,” Phillips said. “I am looking forward to the game … He is really good. He is really versatile. He can score it at all three levels. He is a good player.”