South Carolina Basketball: How to watch the men’s team and women’s team play this week

Both South Carolina basketball programs officially open the 2023-2024 season on Monday, November 6th. Dawn Staley’s team will play in Paris against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Lamont Paris’ squad will play at home at Colonial Life Arena against USC-Upstate. Both groups will play two games over the next, adding Maryland and Virginia Tech to the schedules, respectively.

South Carolina Basketball, Week 1:
How to watch

South Carolina Men’s Basketball

The Gamecocks played an exhibition against Wofford last week, but the “real thing” is finally here as the garnet and black will play one game at home and one on a neutral site.

Carolina will welcome the USC-Upstate Spartans to CLA for a home contest on Monday, November 6th that will tip off at 7:00 and will be broadcast on SECNetwork+ and the ESPN app.

Later in the week, the Gamecocks will drive just over an hour north on I-77 to Charlotte where they will face the Virginia Tech Hokies in Spectrum Arena (home of the Charlotte Hornets) as part of the Hall of Fame Classic. The game will be played on Friday, November 10th at 9:30 on the ACCNetwork and the ESPN app.

South Carolina Women’s Basketball

Dawn Staley’s team had over a week off after a dominant showing in an exhibition against Rutgers, but the highly-anticipated season opener is upon them.

On Monday, November 6th, South Carolina and Notre Dame will tip off at 1:00 in Paris, France as part of the Aflac Oui-Play event. The major matchup will be shown on ESPN and the ESPN app.

Six days later on Sunday, November 12th, Dawn Staley and company will welcome the top-15 Maryland Terrapins to Columbia for a big early-season test. The game will begin at 1:00 and will be viewable on ABC and the ESPN app.

South Carolina Basketball, Week 1:
Predictions

South Carolina Men’s Basketball

The game against USC-Upstate should be a Gamecock victory. However, USC has lost plenty of games to mid-major programs in recent years, and the Wofford exhibition did not exactly instill large amounts of optimism. Carolina has considerably more talent than Upstate, but it might still take some time for the Gamecocks to become a cohesive unit on the floor. A Gamecock win should be expected, but with so many new players, it might not be pretty.

The matchup with Virginia Tech is interesting. KemPom has the Hokies ranked just one spot ahead of the Gamecocks in his preseason rankings (65th and 66th). The Gamecocks are expected to be slightly better on defense and slightly worse on offense than Tech. The game being in Charlotte should allow a pseudo-homecourt advantage for USC. The game is a toss-up, but Virginia Tech’s ability to take and make the outside shot makes them a slight favorite to win.

South Carolina Women’s Basketball

The new-look Gamecocks will be out to prove that they are still a national contender even after losing 8 of their top-12 players from a season ago. Notre Dame will be a stiff test, but South Carolina still has more talent than the Irish. Dawn Staley also has not lost a regular season neutral site game since the 2018-2019 season. The Gamecocks should win with their size advantage.

Maryland will be another tough game, especially considering the Terps’ desire for revenge after last season’s thrashing in the Elite 8. However, if size gives the Gamecocks the advantage over the Fighting Irish, it will be an even bigger factor against Maryland. With just one post player taller than 6’2″, they won’t be able to match up. Plus, the Gamecock FAMS in CLA will be raucous. Coach Staley’s team should get off to a 2-0 start despite the tough strength of schedule.