Finally! South Carolina men’s basketball ranked in Top 25 for first time in 7 seasons
And there it is.
The South Carolina men’s basketball team is ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in seven seasons, checking in at No. 15 in Monday’s new poll.
It’s the program’s first time in the AP Top 25 since 2016-17 — the season Frank Martin led South Carolina to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four. It’s also the highest ranking for USC since 1998.
The Gamecocks were unofficially No. 26 last week, receiving enough votes to land just behind TCU and Alabama. This week South Carolina ranked as the third-highest SEC team.
Ten voters had USC within the top 10 and 24 inside the top 15, according to College Poll Tracker. Four voters didn’t rank the Gamecocks. USC’s highest placement came at No. 5.
The Gamecocks were ranked No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll that was released Monday.
This year’s South Carolina team is 19-3 overall (7-2 SEC) and 5-0 in the last three weeks after taking down Arkansas, then-No. 6 Kentucky, Missouri, then-No. 5 Tennessee and Georgia, in that order. Head coach Lamont Paris has led the team to its best start in SEC play since 2018-19, and is the second USC coach in program history to start 2-0 against Kentucky.
It’s also the first time since the 2016-17 season where USC has had at least three five-game win streaks.
The victories over the Wildcats and Vols just a week apart marked the first time USC had upset two top 10 programs within three games since 1968, when the Gamecocks took down UNC and Duke in back-to-back games. South Carolina has also tied for fourth in program history for the biggest single-season win jump, improving its record from last year by eight games. The program record is an 11-game difference.
“I think it’s a tremendous reward for them,” Paris said Jan. 27 after defeating Missouri about a Top 25 recognition that was expected by many to come a week ago. “Honestly, that’s really the only thing that it is at this point.”
USC picked up its win against now-No. 17 Kentucky and Missouri without starter Myles Stute, who’s been out with a left shoulder strain since facing Georgia on Jan. 16. He made his return against now-No. 6 Tennessee, sinking the game-winning free throws and playing 10 minutes at Georgia on Feb. 3.
South Carolina, according to the school’s athletics X/Twitter account, “is now just the fourth SEC school to have both its men’s (#15) and women’s basketball (#1) programs ranked in the AP Poll at the same time with at least one of the teams ranked No. 1.”
USC is averaging 72.7 points per game and allowing 64.2 points per game. The Gamecocks lead the conference in fewest points allowed, and are 13th in the conference in scoring.
South Carolina, now second in the SEC standings, has a two-game homestand this week. The Gamecocks are hosting Ole Miss on Tuesday, then facing Vanderbilt on Saturday before traveling to No. 12 Auburn on Feb. 14.
Men’s basketball AP Top 25
| | Record | Pts | Prv |
1. UConn (45) | 20-2 | 1509 | 1 |
2. Purdue (16) | 21-2 | 1479 | 2 |
3. North Carolina | 18-4 | 1352 | 3 |
4. Kansas | 18-4 | 1322 | 8 |
5. Houston | 19-3 | 1273 | 4 |
6. Tennessee | 16-5 | 1211 | 5 |
7. Marquette | 17-5 | 1173 | 9 |
8. Arizona | 17-5 | 1077 | 11 |
9. Duke | 16-5 | 924 | 7 |
10. Illinois | 17-5 | 893 | 14 |
11. Wisconsin | 16-6 | 838 | 6 |
12. Auburn | 18-4 | 818 | 16 |
13. Baylor | 16-5 | 730 | 18 |
14. Iowa St. | 16-5 | 700 | 12 |
15. South Carolina | 19-3 | 564 | - |
16. Alabama | 16-6 | 520 | 24 |
17. Kentucky | 15-6 | 513 | 10 |
18. Dayton | 18-3 | 493 | 21 |
19. Creighton | 16-6 | 484 | 13 |
20. FAU | 18-4 | 431 | 20 |
21. BYU | 16-5 | 425 | 22 |
22. Utah St. | 19-3 | 286 | 17 |
23. Texas Tech | 16-5 | 156 | 15 |
24. San Diego St. | 17-5 | 141 | - |
25. New Mexico | 18-4 | 123 | 19 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Mary’s 73, TCU 72, Indiana St 53, Boise St. 49, Colorado St. 43, Virginia 32, Texas 22, Oklahoma 17, Mississippi 10, Washington St 6, Memphis 5, Appalachian St 4, Gonzaga 2, Grand Canyon 1, Michigan St. 1.
Next four games
- Tuesday vs. Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Saturday vs. Vanderbilt, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 14 at Auburn, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Feb. 17 vs. LSU, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Finally! South Carolina men’s basketball ranked in Top 25 for first time in 7 seasons."
