South Carolina basketball fans breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday when the Gamecocks handled business on the road against Ole Miss, beating the Rebels handily by a score of 72-59. The win snapped the team's 2-game losing skid and all but locked up the Gamecocks' first NCAA Tournament bid since they made the Final Four at the end of the 2016-2017 season.
The Gamecocks also are still in the hunt for the SEC regular season championship. Just one game back from Tennessee and Alabama at the top, Carolina would own at least a share of the tile if they win out (USC plays @ Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, and @ Mississippi State during that stretch) and Alabama (they play @ Ole Miss, Tennessee, @ Florida, and Arkansas). Auburn is tied with the Gamecocks at one game back.
The win over the Rebels has eased some concerns both within the South Carolina basketball fanbase and the national media as thoughts of a late-season swoon temporarily have been quieted.
After dropping a whopping nine spots from #11 to #20 in last week's AP top-25 poll, the Gamecocks found themselves moving back up a bit in this week's AP poll.
According to the Associated Press voters, South Carolina basketball is now the 18th-ranked team in college basketball They also made it to 17th in Fox Sports' Jon Fanta's top-25, 16th according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, and 18th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
You can see the entire AP poll below:
- Houston Cougars
- Purdue Boilermakers
- UConn Huskies
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Marquette Golden Eagles
- Arizona Wildcats
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Iowa State Cyclones
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Duke Blue Devils
- Auburn Tigers
- Creighton Blue Jays
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Alabama Crismon Tide
- Baylor Bears
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Saint Mary's Gaels
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Washington State Cougars
- San Diego State Aztecs
- Dayton Flyers
- Utah State Aggies
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Florida Gators
- South Florida Bulls
The Gamecocks will be back in action again on Wednesday night, taking on the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station at 8:30 PM EST on the SEC Network and ESPN app.