# 2013–14 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2013–14 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2013–14 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Frank Martin, who was in his second season at South Carolina. The team played their home games at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

## Before the season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Lakeem Jackson | 30 | Forward | 6'5" | 230 | Senior | Charlotte, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Shane Phillips | 55 | Guard | 5'10" | 170 | Senior | Wheeling, West Virginia | Graduated |
| Damien Leonard | 32 | Guard | 6'4" | 192 | Sophomore | Greenville, South Carolina | Transferred to Furman |
| Brian Richardson | 2 | Guard | 6'4" | 171 | Junior | Wilson, North Carolina | Transferred to High Point |
| RJ Slawson | 33 | Forward | 6'8" | 207 | Junior | Charleston, South Carolina | Transferred to Jacksonville |
| Eric Smith | 5 | Guard | 5'11" | 210 | Junior | Mullins, South Carolina | Transferred to Coastal Carolina |

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sindarius Thornwell SG | Lancaster, SC | Oak Hill Academy (VA) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 1, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Demetrius Henry PF | Fort Pierce, FL | Faith Baptist | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 24, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Desmond Ringer C | McDonough, GA | Eagle's Landing | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Sep 25, 2012 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Duane Notice SG | Toronto, ON | St. Thomas More (CT) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 1, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Justin McKie SG | Columbia, SC | Irmo | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 8, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 69 ||||||
| Jaylen Shaw PG | Hartsville, SC | Hartsville | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Apr 23, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 64 ||||||
| Reggie Thues, Jr. SF | Los Angeles, CA | Fairfax | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 17, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 63 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 28 Rivals: 23 ESPN: 23 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "South Carolina 2013 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013. "2013 South Carolina Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013. "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013. ||||||

## Season
### Preseason

Head coach Frank Martin announced the Gamecocks' league schedule on August 20, 2013. The conference schedule was highlighted by trips to Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, while playing host to Kentucky, LSU, Florida, and Alabama. The Gamecocks' non-conference schedule was finalized on September 4, 2013. Highlighted by a trip to the annual Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, the Gamecocks also scheduled games with Oklahoma State (as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge) and Baylor (as part of the ESPN Hoops Tip-Off Marathon).
The Gamecocks opened their season on November 3 with one exhibition game against USC Aiken, winning 84–72. South Carolina held a 17-point halftime lead but allowed the Pacers to close the gap late.

## Schedule and results

Source: Archived 2013-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/3/2013* 2:00 pm | USC Aiken | W 84–72 | – | Colonial Life Arena (N/A) Columbia, SC |
| Non-conference games ||||||
| 11/9/2013* 1:00 pm | Longwood | W 82-44 | 1–0 | Colonial Life Arena (8,536) Columbia, SC |
| 11/12/2013* 3:00 pm, ESPN | at No. 23 Baylor ESPN Tip-Off Marathon | W 66–64 | 1–1 | Ferrell Center (5,706) Waco, TX |
| 11/17/2013* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Clemson Battle of the Palmetto State | L 57–71 | 1–2 | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,283) Clemson, SC |
| 11/24/2013* 1:00 pm, SPSO | FIU | W 84–72 | 2–2 | Colonial Life Arena (9,869) Columbia, SC |
| 12/6/2013* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | at No. 9 Oklahoma State Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 52–79 | 2–3 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611) Stillwater, OK |
| 12/17/2013* 7:00 pm | Manhattan | L 68–86 | 2–4 | Colonial Life Arena (7,573) Columbia, SC |
| 12/19/2013* 4:00 pm, SPSO | USC Upstate | L 68–74 | 2–5 | Colonial Life Arena (7,531) Columbia, SC |
| 12/22/2013* 12:00 am, ESPNU | vs. Saint Mary's Diamond Head Classic First Round | W 78–71 | 3–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (N/A) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/23/2013* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Boise State Diamond Head Classic Semifinals | L 54–80 | 3–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,438) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/25/2013* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Akron Diamond Head Classic 3rd place game | W 69–59 | 4–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,769) Honolulu, H |
| 12/28/2013* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | Akron Diamond Head Classic | W 78–45 | 5–6 | Colonial Life Arena (7,802) Columbia, SC |
| 12/30/2013* 7:00 pm, CSS | Marshall | W 92–65 | 6–6 | Colonial Life Arena (7,935) Columbia, SC |
| 1/3/2014* 7:00 pm, SPSO | South Carolina State | W 82–75 | 7–6 | Colonial Life Arena (7,357) Columbia, SC |
| Conference games ||||||
| 1/8/2014 7:00 pm, CSS | at No. 10 Florida | L 58–74 | 7–7 (0–1) | O'Connell Center (12,147) Gainesville, FL |
| 1/11/2014 1:30 pm, SECN | LSU | L 68–71 | 7–8 (0–2) | Colonial Life Arena (12,071) Columbia, SC |
| 1/15/2014 8:00 pm, SECN | at Texas A&M | L 67–75 | 7–9 (0–3) | Reed Arena (9,257) College Station, TX |
| 1/18/2014 4:30 pm, FSN | Ole Miss | L 74–75 | 7–10 (0–4) | Colonial Life Arena (14,302) Columbia, SC |
| 1/22/2014 8:00 pm, SECN | at Georgia | L 76–97 | 7–11 (0–5) | Stegeman Coliseum (5,366) Athens, GA |
| 1/25/2014 4:00 pm, SECN | at Missouri | L 74–82 | 7–12 (0–6) | Mizzou Arena (12,033) Columbia, MO |
| 1/29/2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Texas A&M | W 80–52 | 8–12 (1–6) | Colonial Life Arena (9,950) Columbia, SC |
| 2/1/2014 1:30 pm, SECN | at Ole Miss | L 71–75 | 8–13 (1–7) | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,977) Oxford, MS |
| 2/5/2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Auburn | L 74–79 | 8–14 (1–8) | Colonial Life Arena (8,581) Columbia, SC |
| 2/8/2014 3:00 pm, ESPNU | at Tennessee | L 53–72 | 8–15 (1–9) | Thompson-Boling Arena (17,215) Knoxville, TN |
| 2/12/2014 8:00 pm, SECN | Vanderbilt | W 65–59 | 9–15 (2–9) | Colonial Life Arena (9,829) Columbia, SC |
| 2/15/2014 4:00 pm, SECN | Alabama | W 67–66 | 10–15 (3–9) | Colonial Life Arena (8,186) Columbia, SC |
| 2/19/2014 9:00 pm, CSS | at Arkansas | L 64–71 | 10–16 (3–10) | Bud Walton Arena (15,017) Fayetteville, AR |
| 2/22/2014 1:30 pm, SECN | Georgia | L 56–73 | 10–17 (3–11) | Colonial Life Arena (13,571) Columbia, SC |
| 2/26/2014 9:00 pm, FSN | at Auburn | L 67–83 | 10–18 (3–12) | Auburn Arena (4,434) Auburn, AL |
| 3/1/2014 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 17 Kentucky | W 72–67 | 11–18 (4–12) | Colonial Life Arena (15,303) Columbia, SC |
| 3/4/2014 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 1 Florida | L 46–72 | 11–19 (4–13) | Colonial Life Arena (12,781) Columbia, SC |
| 3/8/2014 4:00 pm, SECN | at Mississippi State | W 74–62 | 12–19 (5–13) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,105) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| 03/12/2014 7:00 pm | vs. Auburn First round | W 74–56 | 13–19 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| 03/13/2014 4:23 pm | vs. Arkansas Second round | W 71–69 | 14–19 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| 03/14/2014 3:30 pm | vs. Tennessee Quarterfinals | L 44–59 | 14–20 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Honors and awards

* Jaylen Shaw was named AgSouth Athlete of the Week on November 25, 2013.
* Sindarius Thornwell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on January 13, 2014 and on February 17, 2014.
* Sindarius Thornwell was named Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Week on February 18, 2014.