# 1970–71 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 1970–71 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 1970–71 men's college basketball season. South Carolina won the ACC tournament championship, defeating North Carolina in the championship game 52–51. This was the last season South Carolina ever played in the ACC. The success South Carolina achieved on the court brought resentment and anger from fellow ACC schools, especially those on "Tobacco Road," as the conference members of the state of North Carolina were known. The hostility of the road crowds, the unfriendly behavior of coaches and athletic directors in the conference, and the discrepancies in eligibility standards led head coach Frank McGuire to support South Carolina becoming an Independent before the 1971–72 season. Despite South Carolina leaving the ACC in 1971, (as of 2018) they still remain the only school in the state of South Carolina to win an ACC tournament championship, even though Clemson, still remains in the ACC.

## Roster

| Name | Position | Height | Year | Stats |
| John Roche | Guard | 6–3 | Senior | 21.6 Pts, 2.3 Reb |
| Tom Owens | Center | 6–10 | Senior | 15.0 Pts, 12.9 Reb |
| Tom Riker | Forward | 6–10 | Junior | 14.0 Pts, 8.0 Reb |
| Kevin Joyce | Guard | 6–2 | Sophomore | 12.1 Pts, 4.8 Reb |
| Rick Aydlett | Forward | 6–7 | Junior | 7.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb |
| Bob Carver | Guard | 6–2 | Junior | 7.2 Pts, 2.0 Reb |
| John Ribock | Forward | 6–8 | Senior | 1.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb |
| Danny Traylor | Center | 7–0 | Sophomore | 1.8 Pts, 2.1 Reb |
| Casey Manning | Guard | 6–3 | Sophomore | 0.7 Pts, 0.7 Reb |
| Jimmy Powell | Guard | 5–11 | Junior | 0.6 Pts, 0.0 Reb |
| Dennis Powell | Center | 6–0 | Junior | 0.2 Pts, 0.2 Reb |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| December 3* | No. 2 | Auburn | W 86–69 | 1-0 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| December 5* | No. 2 | at No. 5 Notre Dame | W 85–82 | 2-0 | Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center South Bend, IN |
| December 12 | No. 2 | Duke | W 98-78 | 3-0 (1-0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| December 16 | No. 2 | Maryland | W 96–70 | 4-0 (2-0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| December 19* | No. 2 | at Virginia Tech | W 78–76 | 5-0 | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| December 26* | No. 2 | vs. Cornell | W 83–60 | 6-0 | |
| December 28* | No. 2 | vs. Providence | W 102–86 | 7-0 | |
| December 30* | No. 2 | vs. No. 5 Western Kentucky | W 86–84 | 8-0 | |
| January 2 | No. 2 | Clemson | W 81–53 | 9-0 (3-0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 4 | No. 2 | at North Carolina | L 64–79 | 9-1 (3-1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 6* | No. 2 | Temple | W 84–71 | 10-1 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 9 | No. 2 | at Maryland | L 30–31 | 10-2 (3-2) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD |
| January 11 | No. 2 | at Virginia | L 49–50 | 10-3 (3-3) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| January 30 | No. 10 | No. 15 Virginia | W 92–70 | 11-3 (4-3) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 1 | No. 10 | at Duke | L 71–82 | 11-4 (4-4) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| February 4* | No. 7 | at Furman | W 118–83 | 12-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 6 | No. 7 | at Clemson | W 47–44 | 13-4 (5-4) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| February 10* | No. 9 | vs. Davidson | W 70–62 | 14-4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 17 | No. 7 | North Carolina State | W 79–63 | 15-4 (6-4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 20 | No. 7 | No. 8 North Carolina | W 72–66 | 16-4 (7-4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 22* | No. 7 | Houston | W 88–71 | 17-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 24 | No. 7 | Wake Forrest | W 84–64 | 18-4 (8-4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 27 | No. 7 | at NC State | W 82–69 | 19-4 (9-4) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| March 6 | No. 6 | Wake Forrest | W 88–73 | 20-4 (10-4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| March 11* | No. 6 | vs. Maryland ACC tournament | W 71–63 | 21-4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 12* | No. 6 | vs. NC State ACC tournament | W 69–56 | 22-4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 13* | No. 6 | vs. No. 13 North Carolina ACC tournament | W 52-51 | 23-4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 18* | No. 6 | vs. No. 3 Penn NCAA tournament | L 64-79 | 23-5 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| March 20* | No. 6 | vs. No. 9 Fordham NCAA tournament • Third Place Game | L 90-100 | 23-6 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |

## Gamecocks drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1971 | 1 | 14 | John Roche | Phoenix Suns |
| 1971 | 4 | 58 | Tom Owens | Houston Rockets |