South Carolina MBB handles Florida A&M, notches 12th win ahead of SEC play
Twelve wins before January.
It’s not uncharted territory for the South Carolina men’s basketball program, but it’s a clear improvement over recent seasons — and one more victory than all of coach Lamont Paris’ 11-win debut a year ago.
The Gamecocks defeated Florida A&M 94-62 at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday, improving to 12-1 and wrapping up their nonconference schedule with plenty of momentum and renewed optimism heading into SEC play. Florida A&M dropped to 2-9 on the season.
South Carolina has started 12-1 six times in school history and three times in the SEC era (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16 and 2023-24).
This year’s 12-1 start is the first since the 2015-16 season under Frank Martin. That team finished 25-8 (11-7 SEC), a record worthy of NCAA Tournament consideration, but the Gamecocks were passed over and landed in the NIT instead. The 2023-24 Gamecocks have won nine straight games at home, also a first since 2015-16. That team started 13-0 at home.
USC has two coveted Quad 1 wins (and one loss, to Clemson) in the NCAA’s NET rankings, is 2-0 in Quad 3 games and 8-0 in Quad 4. While this year’s Gamecocks team is already earning NCAA Tournament consideration from such national bracketologists as CBS’ Jerry Palm, there are still 18 SEC games and a conference tournament to be played.
“I’m proud of the guys to be able to come through a good non-conference schedule,” Paris said postgame Saturday. “You had a couple Quad 1 games in there, we played four high-major teams. People want to give lip service to it, but as you’re building a program there are things you’ve got to do, and one is have some success in the nonconference. We checked that box. That’s growth.”
Meechie Johnson returns
South Carolina veteran guard Meechie Johnson returned to the lineup Saturday after missing one game with a right knee injury.
Paris on Dec. 22 said Johnson was dealing with inflammation and that the injury wasn’t structural. Johnson entered the game leading the team in scoring, with a 18.3-points-per-game average. He was averaging 28.7 minutes per game and played 22 on Saturday.
Johnson nailed his first shot attempt (a 3-pointer) and had back-to-back highlight-worthy assists to Zachary Davis around the 12- and 13-minute marks of the first half. He couldn’t find his shooting touch, however. He was 1-of-8 shooting in the first half, 3-of-12 overall and finished with 11 points and six assists.
“I was happy with the fact he was able to go out and play today and get up and down,” Paris said. “You don’t want to go a couple weeks before your first game is a conference game.”
Game recap
This was a game South Carolina was supposed to win — and expected to dominate.
USC was a 24.5-point favorite, according to the VegasInsider consensus line, and won by 32. The Gamecocks entered the game No. 44 in the latest NET rankings, with Florida A&M No. 316 among 362 teams.
The game was tied at 19 with 10:14 to go in the first half. The Gamecocks then went on a 30-2 run, led Florida A&M 49-21 at halftime and never looked back.
Freshman Collin Murray-Boyles led all scorers with a career-high 17 points.. Murray-Boyles played 14 minutes and went 7 for 8 from the free-throw line. The newcomer missed the season’s first six games as he recovered from mono.
Paris described Murray-Boyles as stronger, more explosive and better from a cardiovascular standpoint.
“I thought it was important to get him some extended minutes,” Paris said. “He’s certainly much, much closer to the guy he was before, which will only help us. ... Today he gets the ball in traffic and he dunks it on the guy’s head. That’s who he is as an athlete.”
Also in double digits for South Carolina were Myles Stute (16), Morris Ugusuk (11), Johnson (10) and Benjamin Bosmans- Verdonk (10).
Senior forward-center Josh Gray (ankle) did not play but was available if needed, Paris said.
On to SEC play for Gamecocks
South Carolina begins SEC play next weekend. Entering the weekend, USC’s overall record was second-best among league teams behind undefeated Ole Miss (12-0).
“I think we set this schedule up to help prepare us for what the SEC is,” Paris said. “We’re ready for the next game. We are. We’ve had some success and we’re ready for whatever is next.”
The Southeastern Conference had three teams ranked in the most recent Associated Press men’s basketball Top 25: Tennessee (6), Kentucky (8) and Ole Miss (24). Five other SEC teams were receiving votes in the poll, including the Gamecocks. The others were Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Alabama.
USC starts conference play with games against Mississippi State and Alabama, two teams the AP voters in the latest Top 25 viewed as being mostly on par with the Gamecocks.
While the start of conference play naturally ratchets up the overall competition, South Carolina won’t face a ranked SEC foe until Kentucky (Jan. 23) and Tennessee (Jan. 30).
Stute, a Vanderbilt transfer who’s been through the rigors of a long conference season, was asked Saturday if the Gamecocks are ready for the 18-game slate.
“I hope they’re ready for us,” he said.
Next four games
- Jan. 6: vs. Mississippi State, noon (CBS)
- Jan. 9: at Alabama, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 13: at Missouri, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 16: vs. Georgia, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
This story was originally published December 30, 2023 at 3:49 PM.
