3 burning questions for South Carolina MBB’s remaining non-conference schedule
South Carolina men’s basketball is through six of its 13-game non-conference schedule, but the identity of the 2025-26 roster remains unclear.
The Gamecocks are 4-2, with the two losses against their two strongest opponents. USC went winless this past weekend at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia against top-100 NET teams Butler and Northwestern. Fourth-year coach Lamont Paris’ team didn’t fire on all cylinders, but 79-72 and 79-77 losses aren’t exactly blowouts.
“We need to grow. Probably in some areas a little more rapidly, some guys a little more rapidly,” Paris said.
All of that is to say this: Nobody has all the answers about this team just yet, but the right questions are becoming more clear. Here are three narratives to follow as USC wraps up its non-conference schedule:
Are the Gamecocks actually good 3-point shooters?
Whether USC will shoot many 3-pointers was never the question. Paris has said this team will shoot a high volume from beyond the arc. So far it’s been true: The Gamecocks average 30.8 3-point attempts per game, and broke a program record Nov. 9 against Southern Mississippi with 43 attempts.
Paris has also said that the threshold for adequate 3-point efficiency is about one point per possession — or a 33.3% shooting percentage. The Gamecocks are at 33.5% on the year, right above Paris’ threshold, but a bad shooting night can create extreme deficits at USC’s volume of shooting.
USC started 0 for 10 on 3-pointers against Butler and 2 for 10 against Northwestern. The Gamecocks finished 33% on 3-pointers at the Greenbrier, which meets Paris’ standard, but slow starts made it impossible for USC to regain the lead even as shooting improved.
“I told them one timeout, ‘Hey, just keep playing. We have had better shots than they have had from 3. They’ve made them. We haven’t made them. You know, you’ve got to calm down, relax, whatever that is, and be confident and shoot those things,’” Paris said.
The answer right now is overall, yes, USC shoots 3-pointers well enough. But if it can’t shoot efficiently until after the first 10 attempts, it won’t matter.
“You can’t stop shooting them. That’s who we’ve been, and they’re good shots,” Paris said. “I thought, by and large, they were good shots. We just couldn’t make them.”
Will the paint be a problem?
Basketball is tall person’s game. USC doesn’t have many tall people. It rosters just two players 6-foot-10 or taller, which pales in comparison with most SEC and Power 5 schools.
This fact begged the question preseason: Will the Gamecocks be competitive enough on the interior?
On offense, the answer so far has been encouraging. When shots are falling, the spacing opens up lanes for USC’s guards — which have shown to be somewhat adept scoring inside — to get to the rim. When the shots aren’t falling, like in an 87-59 win Nov. 18 against Radford, USC has shown its ability to adapt and outscore its opponent in the paint.
The answer is not so confidence-inducing defensively. The Gamecocks simply cannot stop opponents from scoring inside, allowing an average 35.7 points per game in the paint, or 50.1% of their average 71.3 total points allowed per game. Allowing over half of every opponent’s points to come in the paint is a recipe for losing.
The biggest example of this issue came at the end of the Northwestern game, when Wildcats forward Arrinten Page scored the game-winning shot from right under the basket. USC guard Mike Sharavjamnts originally guarded Page before shifting to an open shooter in the corner. Elijah Strong switched onto Page, but allowed him to seal off easily and get an open look at the basket.
“We trapped him on the opposite block. That was what they ended up scoring on, was that they were trying to get? I don’t think it was,” Paris said. “I wish we could’ve defended it better, but he made a play.”
The answer, at least defensively, is yes. The paint is a problem for USC. No Gamecock is going to magically grow six inches overnight, so their effort inside must grow in its place.
Is two losses too many?
Resumes matter, even in November. Neutral-site games against top-100 NET teams aren’t going to ruin USC’s resume, but it doesn’t help things as the Gamecocks gear up for an SEC slate full of the nation’s top-ranked programs.
Can the Gamecocks afford to lose any more games in non-conference play? They’re cutting it close. USC likely needs to beat the rest of its “buy game” opponents, and beat at least one of its two remaining power conference opponents in Virginia Tech and Clemson.
Anything less, and it will be hard to say USC is in good shape for Selection Sunday so far when SEC play rolls around. The bigger the wins against the Tigers and Hokies, the better it looks for the Gamecocks and vice versa.
“It’s consistency ... we’ve got a lot of guys who are similar and close to guys. They’re working on consistency,” Paris said. “Whoever’s most consistent will be the ones that are out there.”
South Carolina men’s basketball remaining non-conference schedule
- Friday: vs. Charleston Southern, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Tuesday: vs. Virginia Tech (ACC/SEC Challenge), 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Dec. 6: vs. Stetson, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 13: vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 16: at Clemson, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Dec. 22: vs. S.C. State, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Dec. 30: vs. Albany, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
