Where South Carolina basketball ranks in Bart Torvik's preseason rankings

South Carolina basketball fans are confident that their favorite team will have another strong showing in the 2024-2025 season. After a 26-8 season that saw them finish tied for 2nd place in the SEC regular season standings, the Gamecocks are searching for their first back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament since the 1990s, and the fanbase has a solid belief in Lamont Paris' team.

At least one national college basketball analyst agrees with the garnet and black faithful's optimism.

Bart Torvik, an analytics guru who has created multiple metrics that will be utilized by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, released his offseason rankings recently, and the South Carolina Gamecocks check in at #54 in the country. USC finished 2023-2024 ranked 50th based on Torvik's overall ranking system.

54th is right on the NCAA Tournament bubble but likely is good enough to get Carolina into the Big Dance again, and according to Torvik's T Rankings, if Carolina is going to be on the court for meaningful basketball in March, it will be on the back of star sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles.

According to Torvik, CMB should lead the Gamecocks in points, rebounds, assists, usage rate, and offensive rating. He also projects that Murray-Boyles will lead the 62nd-best defense in the country. Thanks in part to Torvik's projection system being unsure how Coach Paris will utilize the new players on the roster, Murray-Boyles is given the statistical benefit of the doubt.

While it will be nearly impossible for Collin Murray-Boyles to do all of that this season, the Columbia native likely will be counted on to be the team's best player. Talent-wise, that shouldn't be a problem for Murray-Boyles as he has been predicted as a 1st round NBA Draft pick next summer. If the athletic 4-man can play at that level for Carolina this year, the Gamecocks surely will be right in the thick of NCAA Tournament discussions.

South Carolina basketball will open their season with a home contest at Colonial Life Arena against the North Florida Ospreys on Monday, November 4th.