No ranking for South Carolina basketball despite 17-3 record, win over Top 10 Kentucky
USC will have to wait at least another week to enter the polls.
The South Carolina men’s basketball team was just outside this week’s AP Top 25, receiving 108 points in the poll — an indication that USC received a lot of attention from voters, but not enough to be ranked among the official Top 25. The Gamecocks are the unofficial No. 26 team in their fifth week of SEC play.
USC had six voters place the Gamecocks inside the top 20, with one voter placing the group at No. 9. In total, 24 voters ranked South Carolina, according to College Poll Tracker.
The Gamecocks picked up wins over now-No. 10 Kentucky and Missouri, and are 17-3 (5-2 SEC), sitting third in the conference standings. The Wildcats were No. 6 when the Gamecocks defeated them Tursday.
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 all-time against Kentucky.
USC is averaging 73.2 points per game, and allowing 64.5 points per game. The Gamecocks lead the conference in fewest points allowed, and are 13th in the conference in scoring.
The SEC has four teams ranked this week, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 16 Auburn and new entrant, No. 24 Alabama. The Tide (14-6) joined after defeating Auburn and LSU. No. 25 TCU (15-5) went 2-0 against Oklahoma State and Baylor.
The Gamecocks were listed as No. 24 in the CBS Sports Poll and the unofficial No. 28 in the USA Today Coaches Poll (46 points.)
South Carolina plays its second top-10 matchup against the Volunteers on Tuesday night, before its rematch at Georgia on Saturday afternoon. It’s the second time in SEC play the Gamecocks embark on a two-game road trip, after splitting the first road trip against Alabama and Missouri on Jan. 9 and Jan. 13.
AP Top 25
Record | Pts | Prv | |
1. UConn (48) | 18-2 | 1559 | 1 |
2. Purdue (14) | 19-2 | 1517 | 2 |
3. North Carolina | 17-3 | 1441 | 3 |
4. Houston (1) | 18-2 | 1396 | 4 |
5. Tennessee | 15-4 | 1328 | 5 |
6. Wisconsin | 16-4 | 1135 | 13 |
7. Duke | 15-4 | 1066 | 12 |
8. Kansas | 16-4 | 1051 | 7 |
9. Marquette | 15-5 | 1025 | 14 |
10. Kentucky | 15-4 | 1018 | 6 |
11. Arizona | 15-5 | 915 | 9 |
12. Iowa St. | 16-4 | 869 | 23 |
13. Creighton | 16-5 | 741 | 17 |
14. Illinois | 15-5 | 717 | 10 |
15. Texas Tech | 16-3 | 713 | 20 |
16. Auburn | 16-4 | 631 | 8 |
17. Utah St. | 18-2 | 596 | 18 |
18. Baylor | 14-5 | 404 | 15 |
19. New Mexico | 18-3 | 387 | 25 |
20. FAU | 17-4 | 321 | 22 |
21. Dayton | 16-3 | 294 | 16 |
22. BYU | 15-5 | 283 | 21 |
23. Oklahoma | 15-5 | 247 | 11 |
24. Alabama | 14-6 | 240 | - |
25. TCU | 15-5 | 215 | - |
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 108, San Diego St. 95, Memphis 48, Northwestern 32, Mississippi 30, Texas 10, Colorado St. 10, Saint Mary’s 9, Indiana St 5, Boise St. 5, Richmond 4, Gonzaga 4, Virginia 3, McNeese St. 2, Appalachian St 1.
This story was originally published January 29, 2024 at 1:10 PM.
