# 1971–72 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 1971–72 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. This was the first year in which South Carolina played as an Independent. South Carolina finished 6th in the AP Poll for the third year in a row.

## Roster

| Name | Position | Height | Year | Stats |
| Tom Riker | Forward | 6–10 | Senior | 19.6 Pts, 10.4 Reb, 0.9 Ast |
| Kevin Joyce | Guard | 6–2 | Sophomore | 18.3 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 4.1 Ast |
| Danny Traylor | Center | 7–0 | Junior | 14.3 Pts, 10.7 Reb, 1.0 Ast |
| Rick Aydlett | Forward | 6–7 | Senior | 9.8 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 0.9 Ast |
| Brian Winters | Guard | 6–4 | Sophomore | 8.3 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.9 Ast |
| Bob Carver | Guard | 6–2 | Junior | 7.2 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 2.6 Ast |
| Ed Peterson | Guard | 6–4 | Senior | 4.3 Pts, 0.4 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| Ricky Mousa | Forward | 6–5 | Junior | 1.5 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| Casey Manning | Guard | 6–3 | Junior | 1.7 Pts, 0.7 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| Jimmy Powell | Guard | 5–11 | Junior | 0.6 Pts, 0.0 Reb |
| Billy Grimes | Guard | 6–5 | Senior | 0.7 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.1 Ast |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| December 1 | No. 12 | at Auburn | W 84–63 | 1-0 | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| December 10 | No. 11 | at Santa Clara | W 77–66 | 2-0 | Santa Clara, CA |
| December 11 | No. 11 | vs. Cal | W 67-59 | 3-0 | |
| December 18 | No. 3 | Virginia Tech | W 77–76 | 4-0 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| December 23 | No. 3 | at Pitt | W 69–59 | 5-0 | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 27 | No. 3 | vs. Fairfield | W 87–69 | 6-0 | |
| December 28 | No. 3 | vs. Boston College | W 86–64 | 7-0 | |
| December 30 | No. 3 | at Villanova | L 76–77 | 7-1 | Villanova Field House Philadelphia, PA |
| January 9 | No. 4 | No. 2 Marquette | L 71–72 | 7-2 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 12 | No. 4 | Manhattan | W 116-78 | 8-2 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 17 | No. 4 | St. Bonaventure | W 61–59 | 9-2 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 19 | No. 5 | Niagara | W 80–69 | 10-2 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| January 22 | No. 5 | vs. Iowa | L 85–91 | 10-3 | |
| January 27 | No. 11 | at Fordham | W 100–77 | 11-3 | Madison Square Garden Manhattan, NY |
| January 29 | No. 11 | vs. No. 19 Northern Illinois | W 83–72 | 12-3 | |
| February 2 | No. 8 | Stetson | W 98–64 | 13-3 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 5 | No. 8 | at Clemson | W 62–58 | 14-3 | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| February 7 | No. 8 | DePaul | W 91–67 | 15-3 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 12 | No. 9 | Davidson | W 86–71 | 16-3 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 16 | No. 7 | UNLV | W 84–71 | 17-3 | Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV |
| February 19 | No. 7 | at Houston | L 85–95 | 17-4 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX |
| February 23 | No. 9 | Toledo | W 94–72 | 18-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| February 26 | No. 9 | vs. Davidson | W 88–82 | 19-4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 28 | No. 9 | Notre Dame | W 109–83 | 20-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| March 1 | No. 8 | Creighton | W 81–64 | 21-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| March 4 | No. 8 | Clemson | W 77–64 | 22-4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, SC |
| March 11 | No. 6 | vs. Temple NCAA tournament | W 53-51 | 23-4 | William & Mary Hall Williamsburg, VA |
| March 16 | No. 6 | vs. No. 2 North Carolina NCAA tournament | L 69-92 | 23-5 | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| March 18 | No. 6 | vs. No. 15 Villanova NCAA tournament• Third-place game | W 90-78 | 24-5 | |
| *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 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Coaches | 13 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 |

## Gamecocks drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1972 | 1 | 8 | Tom Riker | New York Knicks |