# 2024–25 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2024–25 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by third-year head coach Lamont Paris and play their home games at Colonial Life Arena located in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

## Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2023–24 season 26–8, 13–5 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament, they beat Arkansas in the second round before falling to Auburn in the quarterfinals. The Gamecocks earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2017. However, they would fall in the first round to Oregon.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ebrima Dibba | 0 | G | 6'5" | 214 | RS Senior | Bredäng, Sweden | Transferred to Cleveland State |
| B.J. Mack | 2 | F | 6'8" | 260 | Graduate student | Charlotte, North Carolina | Exhausted eligibility |
| Stephen Clark | 4 | F | 6'8" | 208 | Graduate student | Charlotte, North Carolina | Exhausted eligibility |
| Meechie Johnson | 5 | G | 6'2" | 184 | Junior | Cleveland, Ohio | Transferred back to Ohio State |
| Eli Sparkman | 14 | G | 6'0" | 160 | Sophomore | Cleveland, Tennessee | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Danny Grajzl | 20 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Freshman | Cleveland, Ohio | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Josh Gray | 33 | F | 7'0" | 265 | Senior | Brooklyn, New York | Transferred to Missouri |
| Ta'Lon Cooper | 55 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Graduate student | Roebuck, South Carolina | Exhausted eligibility |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Jordan Butler | 0 | F | 7'0" | 240 | Sophomore | Mauldin, South Carolina | Missouri |
| Nick Pringle | 5 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Graduate student | Seabrook, South Carolina | Alabama |
| Jamarii Thomas | 6 | G | 5'11" | 190 | Senior | Greensboro, North Carolina | Norfolk State |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Cam Scott SG | Lexington, South Carolina | Lexington High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

On October 14, 2024 the SEC released their preseason media poll. South Carolina was picked to finish eleventh in the SEC regular season. Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles was named to the Third Team All-SEC.

### SEC media poll

SEC media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Auburn |
| 3 | Tennessee |
| 4 | Arkansas |
| 5 | Texas A&M |
| 6 | Florida |
| 7 | Texas |
| 8 | Kentucky |
| 9 | Ole Miss |
| 10 | Mississippi State |
| 11 | South Carolina |
| 12 | Georgia |
| 13 | Missouri |
| 14 | LSU |
| 15 | Oklahoma |
| 16 | Vanderbilt |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m. | | Wooster | W 86–60 | – | 19 – Murray-Boyles | 11 – Murray-Boyles | 5 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (3,506) Columbia, SC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | North Florida | L 71–74 | 0–1 | 17 – Murray-Boyles | 9 – Pringle | 6 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (12,388) Columbia, SC |
| November 8, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 86–64 | 1–1 | 20 – Wright | 16 – Murray-Boyles | 4 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (12,205) Columbia, SC |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Towson | W 80–54 | 2–1 | 27 – Murray-Boyles | 9 – Tied | 5 – Thomas | Colonial Life Arena (11,577) Columbia, SC |
| November 16, 2024* 3:00 p.m., Peacock | | at No. 16 Indiana | L 71–87 | 2–2 | 18 – Ugusuk | 11 – Pringle | 4 – Thomas | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN |
| November 21, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 84–72 | 3–2 | 19 – Thomas | 9 – Murray-Boyles | 5 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (11,054) Columbia, SC |
| November 25, 2024* 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. No. 22 Xavier Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division semifinals | L 66–75 | 3–3 | 13 – Murray-Boyles | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 27, 2024* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Virginia Tech Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division consolation game | W 70–60 | 4–3 | 16 – Murray-Boyles | 8 – Murray-Boyles | 3 – Davis | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 3, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Boston College ACC–SEC Challenge | W 73–51 | 5–3 | 16 – Murray-Boyles | 14 – Murray-Boyles | 5 – Thomas | Conte Forum (4,607) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| December 7, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 75–68 | 6–3 | 22 – Thomas | 10 – Tied | 7 – Thomas | Colonial Life Arena (10,997) Columbia, SC |
| December 14, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 73–53 | 7–3 | 19 – Pringle | 11 – Murray-Boyles | 6 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (11,092) Columbia, SC |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 25 Clemson Rivalry | W 91–88 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | 22 – Murray-Boyles | 9 – Murray-Boyles | 4 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (12,780) Columbia, SC |
| December 22, 2024* 2:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Radford | W 74–48 | 9–3 | 18 – Thomas | 8 – Pringle | 4 – Pringle | Colonial Life Arena (10,831) Columbia, SC |
| December 30, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN | | Presbyterian | W 69–59 | 10–3 | 22 – Murray-Boyles | 9 – Murray-Boyles | 6 – Thomas | Colonial Life Arena (10,525) Columbia, SC |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2025 2:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 17 Mississippi State | L 50–85 | 10–4 (0–1) | 22 – Davis | 10 – Murray-Boyles | 6 – Thomas | Humphrey Coliseum (8,075) Starkville, MS |
| January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 5 Alabama | L 68–88 | 10–5 (0–2) | 20 – Wright | 8 – Murray-Boyles | 3 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (11,115) Columbia, SC |
| January 11, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 2 Auburn | L 63–66 | 10–6 (0–3) | 25 – Murray-Boyles | 10 – Pringle | 4 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (13,390) Columbia, SC |
| January 15, 2025 6:00 p.m., SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 63–66 | 10–7 (0–4) | 20 – Ugusuk | 10 – Wright | 2 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (6,443) Nashville, TN |
| January 18, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Oklahoma | L 62–82 | 10–8 (0–5) | 15 – Ugusuk | 10 – Murray-Boyles | 5 – Wright | Lloyd Noble Center (7,264) Norman, OK |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 5 Florida | L 69–70 | 10–9 (0–6) | 22 – Davis | 7 – Pringle | 8 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (14,930) Columbia, SC |
| January 25, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 14 Mississippi State | L 60–65 $^{OT}$ | 10–10 (0–7) | 19 – Thomas | 12 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (13,203) Columbia, SC |
| January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN | | at Georgia | L 60–71 | 10–11 (0–8) | 19 – Thomas | 6 – Pringle | 5 – Murray-Boyles | Stegeman Coliseum (7,062) Athens, GA |
| February 1, 2025 8:30 p.m., SECN | | No. 13 Texas A&M | L 72–76 | 10–12 (0–9) | 22 – Murray-Boyles | 7 – Murray-Boyles | 6 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (12,856) Columbia, SC |
| February 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 14 Kentucky | L 57–80 | 10–13 (0–10) | 14 – Murray-Boyles | 9 – Pringle | 2 – Thomas | Rupp Arena (20,003) Lexington, KY |
| February 12, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 19 Ole Miss | L 68–72 | 10–14 (0–11) | 20 – Murray-Boyles | 10 – Davis | 3 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (10,974) Columbia, SC |
| February 15, 2025 8:30 p.m., SECN | | at No. 3т Florida | L 67–88 | 10–15 (0–12) | 13 – Wright | 4 – Tied | 4 – Thomas | O'Connell Center (10,853) Gainesville, FL |
| February 18, 2025 9:00 p.m., SECN | | at LSU | L 67–81 | 10–16 (0–13) | 23 – Thomas | 10 – Murray-Boyles | 3 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (7,403) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 22, 2025 8:30 p.m., SECN | | Texas | W 84–69 | 11–16 (1–13) | 22 – Murray-Boyles | 10 – Murray-Boyles | 3 – Wright | Colonial Life Arena (11,369) Columbia, SC |
| February 25, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 14 Missouri | L 71–101 | 11–17 (1–14) | 27 – Murray-Boyles | 7 – Murray-Boyles | 3 – Thomas | Mizzou Arena (12,595) Columbia, MO |
| March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN | | Arkansas | W 72–53 | 12–17 (2–14) | 35 – Murray-Boyles | 10 – Davis | 5 – Davis | Colonial Life Arena (11,754) Columbia, SC |
| March 4, 2025 6:00 p.m., SECN | | Georgia | L 64–73 | 12–18 (2–15) | 24 – Murray-Boyles | 7 – Davis | 5 – Murray-Boyles | Colonial Life Arena (11,633) Columbia, SC |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., SECN | | at No. 4 Tennessee | L 65–75 | 12–19 (2–16) | 20 – Thomas | 14 – Pringle | 4 – Thomas | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2025 12:00 p.m., SECN | (16) | vs. (9) Arkansas First round | L 68–72 | 12–20 | 20 – Murray-Boyles | 12 – Murray-Boyles | 4 – Wright | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source