South Carolina basketball: Gamecocks full schedule unveiled
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina basketball to face tough slate in 2020-21.
With all the talk surrounding the football program and Will Muschamp’s firing, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the South Carolina basketball team begins its season in less than a week. The Gamecocks will lead in with a November 25th exhibition against in-state foe Coker, before kicking off the non-conference portion of the 2020-21 schedule.
The full slate includes matchups with Clemson, George Washington, and Houston. They’ll also participate in the Hall of Fame Classic alongside Northwestern, Tulsa, and TCU, all before SEC play starts.
The conference portion of the schedule begins with Kentucky, and sees the Gamecocks face league favorites Tennessee, LSU, and Florida, too. Below is the schedule in its entirety.
SOUTH CAROLINA 2020-21 SCHEDULE:
- Wed., Nov. 25: vs. Coker (exhibition)
- Sat., Nov. 28: vs. Northwestern (tournament)
- Sun., Nov. 29: vs. TCU or Tulsa (tournament)
- Sat., Dec. 5: at Houston
- Thu., Dec. 10: vs. Wofford
- Mon., Dec. 14: at George Washington
- Sat., Dec. 19: vs. Clemson
- Wed., Dec. 23: vs. S.C. State
- Tues., Dec. 29: at Kentucky
- Sat., Jan. 2: vs. Florida A&M
- Wed., Jan. 6: vs. Texas A&M
- Sat., Jan. 9: at Ole Miss
- Tues., Jan. 12: vs. Tennessee
- Sat., Jan. 16: at LSU
- Tues., Jan. 19: at Missouri
- Sat., Jan. 23: vs. Auburn
- Wed., Jan. 27: vs. Georgia
- Sat., Jan. 30: at Vanderbilt
- Wed., Feb. 3: at Florida
- Sat., Feb. 6: vs. Mississippi State
- Tues., Feb. 9: vs. Alabama
- Sat., Feb. 13: vs. Ole Miss
- Tues., Feb. 16: Tennessee
- Sat., Feb. 20: vs. Missouri
- Wed., Feb. 24: at Mississippi State
- Sat., Feb. 27: at Georgia
- Tues., March 2: vs. Arkansas
- March 10-14: SEC Tournament in Nashville
It certainly won’t be easy sledding for Frank Martin and Co., who’s team will play 11 games against teams in the CBS Sports preseason top 68 rankings. The Gamecocks also land on that list, coming in at No. 67.
Here’s what head coach Frank Martin had to say about his team’s upcoming slate.
"“If you pay attention to our schedule, it’s pretty damn hard. We turn around and we go to back-to-back high-major games in Kansas City, come home for three or four days and turn around and go to Houston. They got the best team they’ve had there since the early ’80s… I don’t know that I’m gonna be able to take a deep breath, but that’s OK. That’s what it’s all about. And I’d rather play these hard games than games that don’t have any pop to them.”"
South Carolina was 18-13 a year ago, finishing sixth in the SEC standings. They’ll look to build on that in 2020, as the program tries to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their Final Four run in 2017.