New non-conference game added to South Carolina basketball schedule

Third-year head coach Lamont Paris has made South Carolina basketball relevant again. After a tough first season in Columbia, Paris had a record-breaking turnaround in his second year in garnet and black, and, thanks to 26 wins and a tied-for-2nd-place finish in the SEC, the Gamecocks made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2016-2017 Final Four run.

Carolina has a chance to replicate their success in the 2024-2025 season as Paris and his coaching staff have had a strong effort in recruiting. Two 4-star freshmen (wing Cam Scott and forward Okku Federiko) are joined by three impact transfer portal additions (center Nick Pringle, Alabama Crimson Tide; point guard Jamarii Thomas, Norfolk State Spartans; power forward/center Jordan Butler, Missouri Tigers) as the reinforcements who are being tasked with making up for the roster's losses from last year.

The Gamecocks are searching for back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time since the 1990s, and with that pursuit, every game on the schedule will be critical.

On Monday, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported that the South Carolina basketball schedule has added a new game for the 2024-2025 season. According to Rothstein, on December 22nd, the Gamecocks will welcome the Radford Highlanders to Colonial Life Arena for an out-of-conference contest.

The matchup with Radford is not the only non-conference game known from the 2024-2025 schedule. Coach Paris also has scheduled the annual rivalry game against the Clemson Tigers, a huge road trip to Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers, a trip to play the Boston College Eagles in Chestnut Hill for the ACC/SEC Challenge, the season opener at home against the North Florida Ospreys, a home contest vs. the East Carolina Pirates, and the early-season Fort Myers Tip-Off (where USC could play, at least, the Xavier Musketeers, Michigan Wolverines, or Virginia Tech Hokies).

For South Carolina basketball fans who are counting down until tip-off, there are 133 days remaining on the calendar until November 4th when the Gamecocks will open the season at Colonial Life Arena against the North Florida Ospreys.