South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks retake throne as queens of college basketball

South Carolina basketball has been the most impressive program of the early portion of the 2023-2024 season, and it hasn’t been close. The Gamecocks traveled to Paris, France to beat down the 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish right down the street from the real Notre Dame and then returned home to provide an even bigger whoopin’ on the #14 Maryland Terrapins.

In those two games, South Carolina basketball is averaging 107 points while giving up just 73.5, good for a margin of victory over 30 points. The Gamecocks are also the only team with two top-15 victories this season, and they won each game in very different ways.

Against Notre Dame, the team’s best player (Kamilla Cardoso) and most electric player (MiLaysia Fulwiley) were dominant as the top performers, while against Maryland, a well-rounded effort was led primarily by players other than Cardoso and Fulwiley as forwards Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins had double-doubles.

Couple USC’s dominance with the fact that multiple top-5 programs lost in the first week of the season (UConn fell to NC State, and LSU got smacked by Colorado), and it makes sense that the preseason #6 Gamecocks rose up to the top spot in Monday’s AP poll.

The entire AP poll can be seen below:

1. South Carolina Gamecocks
2. Iowa Hawkeyes
3. UCLA Bruins
4. Utah Utes
5. Colorado Buffaloes
6. Stanford Cardinal
7. LSU Tigers
8. UConn Huskies
9. Virginia Tech Hokies
10. Southern Cal Trojans
11. Texas Longhorns
12. Florida State
13. Ohio State Buckeyes
14. NC State Wolfpack
15. Tennessee Lady Volunteers
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
17. North Carolina Tar Heels
18. Indiana Hoosiers
19. Louisville Cardinals
20. Maryland Terrapins
21. Baylor Bears
22. Creighton Blue Jays
23. Ole Miss Rebels
24. Washington State Cougars
25. Oklahoma Sooners

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Mississippi State Bulldogs, Kansas State Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, Texas A&M Aggies, Duke Blue Devils, Marquette Golden Eagles, Miami Hurricanes, UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, Illinois Fighting Illini, Drake Bulldogs, Arizona Wildcats

The South Carolina basketball team will be back in action this Thursday at 7:00 at Colonial Life Arena against the rival Clemson Tigers.