Season over: USC stumbles in SEC Tournament loss to Oklahoma. What we saw

Win or go home is one thing. Win five straight or go home is a whole different animal.

That’s what South Carolina needed to do in the SEC Tournament after a lackluster fourth season under coach Lamont Paris. But before you can win game five, you have to win game one, and the Gamecocks probably liked their chances against Oklahoma — one of four SEC teams USC beat this season — more than most first-round opponents.

But this wasn’t the same Sooners team that fell to USC in the middle of a nine-game losing streak. They were the Sooners that won six of their last eight and could sneak into the NCAA Tournament with a lengthy run in Nashville.

The Gamecocks were, well, the same Gamecocks, and it showed: USC was eliminated by Oklahoma in an 86-74 loss on Wednesday, ending the 2025-26 season for Paris and his staff. The Gamecocks couldn’t sustain a hot shooting start and 13-point lead midway through the first half, going into halftime tied, and fell without ever leading in the second half.

South Carolina is 62-68 in four seasons under Paris. And he’ll be back for a fifth season as the Gamecocks’ coach, the school confirmed this week.

Paris and his staff will soon turn their attention toward building a more competitive roster for the 2026-27 season. The transfer portal opens April 7.

“We’ll have meetings immediately with all the guys,” Paris said, “the guys that are out of eligibility, then certainly all the guys that have eligibility still. That’s par for the course in any year. In this landscape, certainly those are important meetings to have.

“... You come to a decision on who will be here the next year and who won’t be here the next year. ... Then you’ll have an idea of what you need to bring in to fill some of those voids.”

Roles reversed temporarily

It’s no secret to anyone who’s watched the Gamecocks (13-19, 4-15 SEC) that they tried to rely on the 3-point shot this season. And those who watched also know that plan hasn’t exactly gone well.

USC entered Wednesday’s game dead last in the SEC for 3-point shooting percentage (30.8%) despite taking the sixth-most 3-pointers per game (25.6).

The USC team that took the floor on Wednesday didn’t look like the team that struggled from distance all year. The Gamecocks started 7-for-10 from beyond the arc and took a 36-23 lead — their largest of the game. Oklahoma, meanwhile, made three of its first 10 shots from long range.

That’s when the Gamecocks came back to earth. Oklahoma (18-14, 8-11 SEC) went away from the 3 and attacked inside, going on an 18-6 run in the final six minutes and 19 seconds of the half with only two made 3-pointers. USC went cold and didn’t score in the final two minutes and 15 seconds of the half.

USC and Oklahoma were tied 42-42 headed into the break.

“We did have a resilient group,” Paris said. “Even if you look at this game, the way we came out and played, it wasn’t for any lack of effort certainly that we didn’t come out on top. Hopefully it will be a good experience for some of the guys, some of the younger guys.”

Sooners come out swinging

Oklahoma didn’t waste any time capitalizing on the halftime reset, and the Sooners made sure another cold start wouldn’t come from their side in the second. They scored 12 points in the first five minutes of the second half.

USC had five points in that same stretch. The Gamecocks started the second half shooting 3-for-10 from the floor after starting the game 6-of-10. The Sooners started 6-for-10 from the floor in both halves.

The Gamecocks shot 38.7% in the half and 21.4% on 3-pointers.

“We have to be better coming out in the second half,” USC’s Kobe Knox said. “They came out and hit us first. We had to respond. Just little defensive cues that we weren’t executing on, some bad fouls. That’s kind of the whole thing. Shots kind of weren’t falling in the second half how they were in the first half.”

Senior guards battle to the end

USC’s senior guard trio of Meechie Johnson, Mike Sharavjamts and Knox have led the way all season. The three are all averaging 29 or more minutes and double-digit points per game this season. No other Gamecock starter plays more than 24 minutes per game.

The three did what they could to keep the Gamecocks in it on Wednesday. All three players scored double-digit points and combined for 43 points total. Knox (20 points) fouled out of the game with just over a minute left.

USC couldn’t get by on the production of three alone, as the rest of the lineup failed to bring any additional offensive firepower. No other Gamecock scored more than seven points.

“Just a blessing to be able to finish my career out here,” said Johnson, who scored 14 Wednesday on 3-of-15 shooting. “I couldn’t ask God for a better way to go out. I wish we won, but just being here with these guys, it’s always a blessing. I feel like I ended up the right way with Coach Paris and these guys.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 11:49 PM.