USC MBB drops game against Northwestern in last-second loss. What we learned
.JPG "South Carolina forward Elijah Strong (31) is seen during the men's basketball game against North Carolina A&T at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.")
South Carolina men’s basketball traveled to the Greenbrier Tip-Off to test itself in a weekend of games against top-100 NET opponents. Now, the Gamecocks return home with their first two losses of the season and more questions than answers.
USC (4-2) fell to Northwestern (5-1) 79-77 Sunday. The Wildcats led by 12 with 4:52 to go, but the Gamecocks came back and tied the game heading into the final possession. Northwestern forward Arrinten Page scored with .8 seconds left for the win.
“In the small picture, you want to win badly, but in the big picture, in the grand scheme of things I do think you do have to take away what you did,” USC coach Lamont Paris said to 107.5 The Game’s Derek Scott postgame. “How to make that be consistent regardless of the opponent that you’re going against is really what the challenge is, and that’s what we’re continuing to work on.”
The Gamecocks leave White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, with an 0-2 record in the midseason showcase. Here are three things we saw in the matchup:
Meechie madness
After a competitive first half with nine lead changes, it seemed Northwestern and started to pull away. The Wildcats led by 12 points with 4:52 remaining in the second half. That’s when Meechie Johnson took over.
Johnson, who scored 15 points in the game rattled off seven-straight points to bring the game within one possession. He passed off to Elijah Strong, who finished with a team-high 17 points, which led to the game-trying free throws with less than two minutes remaining.
The Gamecocks have called upon Johnson frequently in big moments. He leads USC with 16.4 points per game. In an 83-79 overtime win against Southern Mississippi, Johnson scored 33 points and brought the Gamecocks back from an 11-point deficit.
3-point struggles continue
USC is built around the 3-pointer this season, but the Gamecocks struggled from beyond the arc in their weekend away. They shot 28% in Friday’s 79-72 loss to Butler. In the first half against Northwestern, USC shot 21.4% on 3-pointers.
The Gamecocks improved to 35% shooting on 3-pointers in the second half. USC finished 17-for-50, or 34%, on 3-pointers across two games at the Greenbrier.
Keeping up inside
While outside shooting struggles lingered from the loss against Butler, the Gamecocks were much improved on the interior against Northwestern. Paris critiqued his players’ effort inside after Friday’s game.
USC outrebounded Northwestern 31-26 and scored 32 points in the paint. It also shot the ball at a 45.9% rate despite struggling early on 3-point attempts.
The increased production inside was a big reason the Gamecocks stayed in the game through a long-range shooting slump.
“Those are two pretty good teams that we played,” Paris said. “I’m sure these guys will take that information and use it to their advantage.”
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming games
- Friday: vs. Charleston Southern, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Tuesday, Dec. 2: vs. Virginia Tech (ACC/SEC Challenge), 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Saturday, Dec. 6: vs. Stetson, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday, Dec. 13: vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published November 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM.
