South Carolina MBB drops ACC-SEC Challenge to Virginia Tech. What we learned
When South Carolina welcomed Virginia Tech to Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday, the game represented more than just the Gamecocks’ participation in the ACC/SEC Challenge. It was an opportunity.
An opportunity to beat their first top-100 NET team this season and move closer to the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. An opportunity to show this team could be a legitimate competitor on the right night.
The game came down to the final possession in overtime, but the Gamecocks fell just short and proved one of two things: Either it wasn’t the right night, or USC isn’t quite ready for prime time.
“What you’re focused on is improving and learning and then growing. And so while there has been some of that I think the pace at which some of the growth in some particular areas is happening, it would benefit us if some of that growth would happen a little quicker,” USC head coach Lamont Paris said. “And most of those aren’t physical things, most of those are decisions.”
The Gamecocks (5-3) fell to Virginia Tech (7-2) 86-83 Tuesday night. Here are three key takeaways from the loss:
Slow start from distance
USC has struggled to shoot 3-pointers this year despite assurances from Paris that it would be a focus of the offense this season. Against Butler, Northwestern and Charleston Southern, the Gamecocks shot a combined 22 for 84 (26.2%) on 3-pointers. The biggest struggles seem to come early in games.
The Gamecocks shot 3-for-13 in the first half against Charleston Southern. Against the Hokies, USC started 1-for-4 before finishing the half 3-for-7 and 4-for-11 overall. Despite bringing Virginia Tech’s lead to 37-34 before halftime, a 1-for-9 start in the second half left the Gamecocks with little time to make up the deficit once they found their rhythm.
“I thought we got off to a slow start in the first half, we found our way back to a good spot, and then we just didn’t make plays down the stretch to win,” Paris said.
Eventually the Gamecocks got hot, going on a 6-for-7 run in the closing minutes of the second half to force overtime. USC shot made 1 out of 5 shots from the floor in the extra period. Meechie Johnson led the way with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the game.
Johnson had a chance to win the game in regulation but passed out of an isolation to Mike Sharavjamnts. He couldn’t get a shot off in time. Paris chose not to call an available timeout during the possession.
“I was there at the same time you were there. We didn’t get a shot off,” Paris said. “Generally I don’t like to (call timeout), because they get to change defenses. They get to change ball screen coverages, they get to plan, if we get a bucket, what they do right after that. ... It looked like we had a good situation. We were under complete control, and so I let it play out.”
Ultimately, a missed 3-pointer decided the game as Johnson missed the would-be game winner with two seconds left.
Spark plug Strong
Junior forward Elijah Strong has become a true spark plug off the bench for the Gamecocks. After an up-and-down first five games, scoring as many as 15 points and as few as zero, Strong seems to have found his offensive footing. He led the team with 16 and 22 points in the last two games against Northwestern and Charleston Southern.
“Whenever the shot presents itself, you know, sometimes you just gotta take it. Gotta shoot the ball with confidence,” said Strong. “In the first half, they punched us in our mouth. I feel like we did a good job responding at that. We just got to be able to finish the game, and we just got to learn how to win.”
Strong continued to roll against the Hokies, leading the Gamecocks with 10 first-half points on 4-for-9 shooting. He finished with 18 points in 25 minutes Tuesday night.
Interior inferiority
If USC plans to start slow from long range, it needs to come ready to adapt and focus on playing inside until the spacing kicks in. That hasn’t happened so far, and it didn’t against the Hokies.
The Gamecocks were outscored 54-30 in the paint and out-rebounded 37-28. Virginia Tech outscored USC 12-5 on second-chance points. USC didn’t get an offensive rebound in the first half.
“We clobbered ‘em pretty good in the first half on the glass,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said.
USC’s play inside didn’t afford the team a backup option besides making its 3-pointers. Even as shots began to fall late on a 5-for-5 run with just over five minutes to go, the Hokies would always respond inside.
“We have to get that figured out, because if you don’t rebound, it’s just hard. It puts so much pressure on your offense. Eighty-two is not enough. You got to have 93 right? If you’re not going to rebound the ball, you’ve got to score 93 points.” Paris said. “If we can put out 93 a game, I’ll let some of that stuff slide, I promise you, but I’m still waiting on the team at this level that can do that consistently.”
Sharavjamnts changed his team’s fortunes with a rebound and putback basket for a 67-65 lead with 3:44 left in the second half. He hit the foul shot to give the Gamecocks a 3-point lead. Sharavjamnts finished with 14 points in the game.
Despite the boost in paint scoring to close the game, USC’s bad habits inside reemerged in OT as Virginia Tech scored the game-winner on an uncontested layup.
“I think these games are closer than they should be, most of them,” Paris said. “We can get better at making some decisions that lead up to that. Forget the play, I think it’s these decisions. I think we have to learn how to win a basketball game and what that means.”
South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming schedule
- Saturday: vs. Stetson, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday, Dec. 13: vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Tuesday, Dec. 16: at Clemson, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
- Monday, Dec. 22: vs. S.C. State, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 9:18 PM.
