South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from the Gamecocks' win over Mississippi State

South Carolina basketball set a new all-time Gamecock record on Saturday. With their 25th win of the season, Lamont Paris' team broke the program record for regular season wins, breaking a tie with the 1969-1970 and 2015-2016 teams. Unlike those two teams, however, the 2023-2024 South Carolina basketball squad will play in the NCAA Tournament.

The game against Mississippi State on Saturday was a tight one. The Gamecocks led by as many as 9 points in the 1st half, but the Bulldogs kept fighting, and most of the game saw either team leading by just one or two possessions.

BJ Mack had a bounce-back performance as a scorer. After averaging just 5 points and 1 rebound per game over the past three games, he exploded for 25 points on just 11 shots from the field to lead the team in scoring. He also made a couple of clutch buckets and free throws down the stretch.

Collin Murray-Boyles was excellent, Zach Davis, Josh Gray, and Ta'Lon Cooper had some really nice moments, and Meechie Johnson was much more impactful than his stat line would indicate.

The Gamecocks also showed they could win a game in which they were forced to play a different style than their preferred game with a slow-paced offense. In a much more up-and-down type of game, Carolina maintained relatively strong efficiency on offense, and the defense played pretty well as State scored 15 2nd chance points with their rebounding advantage and several more on very difficult shots from Josh Hubbard.

In all, it was a very good win on the road for the Gamecocks as they bookended the SEC season with victories over the Bulldogs. Now, they get a chance to roll into Nashville with some momentum for the SEC Tournament.

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