South Carolina MBB flattened in road matchup vs. Texas A&M. 3 things we learned

Perhaps no other SEC program understands South Carolina’s situation more than Texas A&M.

A coach from the Southern Conference? Check.

A system that relies on 3-pointers (and, in the Aggies’ case, press defense)? Check.

A roster made up mostly of new faces? Double check. No SEC team matched Texas A&M’s 14 newcomers this season.

But Lamont Paris’ Gamecocks and Bucky McMillan’s Aggies entered Saturday’s matchup in College Station —pushed up two and a half hours due to winter weather conditions forecast throughout the Southeast — in different places.

Those differences were on display as the Aggies (16-4, 6-1 SEC) raced past USC (11-9, 2-5 SEC) 92-69. It marked the Gamecocks’ first loss in College Station since 2018.

“They shot the ball well. We don’t normally give up that many 3s,” Paris told Gamecock Sports Network’s Derek Scott. “A lot of that was transition. We didn’t finish well enough around the basket, and that led to transition situations.”

Combating Bucky Ball

First-year Aggies coach McMillan is known for his press defense and high-volume 3-point shooting offense that helped him win two SoCon titles with Samford and is endearingly called “Bucky Ball.”

Texas A&M has forced 15.7 turnovers per game this season while shooting 36.9% on 3-pointers on the SEC’s second-most attempts per game (30.3). USC also runs a volume-shooting offense, with 27 3-point attempts per game. The difference is, Paris’ offense is methodical and half-court based, while McMillan’s offense leans heavily on tempo.

The Gamecocks came out frazzled by the Aggies’ style Saturday. They committed three turnovers in the first five minutes and missed their first five shots. USC settled in and hit its next four shots, including two 3-pointers, to take a 14-7 lead.

Both teams traded makes before USC began to go cold and play sloppy. USC fouled after a turnover to cap an 11-0 Aggie run and found itself down 29-17 with seven minutes left in the first half.

Texas A&M closed the half on a 6-for-8 shooting run and a school-record 12 first-half 3-pointers, while the Gamecocks went 1 for 11 and were down 46-25 at halftime.

The Aggies finished 17 for 39 on 3-pointers, well ahead of USC’s 9-for-25 clip. Aggies senior forward Zach Clemence went 7 for 8 from beyond the arc. USC had not given up more than 10 3-pointers this season.

Texas A&M scored 15 points off of 10 Gamecock turnovers.

Missing the leaders

A big reason for USC’s shortcomings against the Aggies was a lack of production from its usual producers.

Mike Sharavjamts and Elijah Strong, USC’s second-and-third-leading scorers, combined for five points in the game. Three of the nine Gamecocks to touch the floor didn’t score. The second-leading scorer in the game, Kobe Knox, finished with 18 points.

“I went with the guys that wanted to play and wanted to compete the most,” Paris said.

Strong and freshman guard Grant Polk both finished with zero points in the game. The Gamecocks were also missing freshman guard Eli Ellis (9.9 ppg) with an ankle injury.

USC was able to put together an 15-2 run midway through the second half and show some life, but the Aggies didn’t let up even with a sizable lead and kept pressing almost all the way to the final buzzer.

Meechie Johnson shoulders the load

While the Gamecocks struggled shooting overall, senior point guard Meechie Johnson kept USC afloat with a team-high 26 points on 7-for-12 shooting, with five assists and four rebounds. He went 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

Johnson entered Saturday having the best season of his career statistically, with a career-high 15.1 points and 4.1 assists per game. He took a step further in SEC play with 17.5 points per game.

It hasn’t led to wins so far, but Johnson has seen a return to form with the program he once made an All-SEC second team .

South Carolina men’s basketball upcoming schedule

• Wednesday: vs. Florida, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
• Jan. 31: vs. LSU, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
• Feb. 3: at Texas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
• Feb, 7: vs. Missouri, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)

This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 2:54 PM.