South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks hosting “Garnet and Black Madness” tonight

Lamont Paris and his South Carolina basketball team open their regular season on November 6th against USC-Upstate at home at Colonial Life Arena. However, Gamecock fans will have two other opportunities to check out their favorite team on the hardwood.

On November 1st, the Gamecocks will host the Wofford Terriers for an exhibition at CLA. Tickets for the exhibition will cost $10, and the proceeds (plus collected donations) will be given to the Maui Strong Fund to help support relief and rebuilding efforts after wildfires in Maui devastated the area.

Even that exhibition is not the first opportunity for South Carolina basketball fans to catch Coach Paris and his team, though. On Wednesday night at 7:00, Garnet and Black Madness, the Gamecocks’ annual tip-off to the season, will open the men’s basketball year. in the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena.

The free event will start at 7:00, but doors to the arena will open at 6:15. Parking will be available around the arena and around downtown Columbia.

The “Madness” will include team introductions, an intrasquad scrimmage, a dunk contest, a Coach Paris address to the Gamecock Faithful in attendance, and two student/player shooting competitions for prizes.

The second-annual Garnet and Black Madness will be exceptionally “mad” this season as the 2023-2024 version of the South Carolina basketball roster is full of brand new faces. True freshmen Collin Murray-Boyles, Arden Conyers, and Morris Ugusuk, transfer additions BJ Mack, Myles Stute, Stephen Clark, and Ta’Lon Cooper, and walk-ons Austin Herro and Danny Grajzl are all new to the program.

Garnet and Black Madness will not be available on television or online streaming viewership, so fans will have to be at Colonial Life Arena on Wednesday night to get an early look at year two of the Lamont Paris era in Columbia.