# 2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2019–20 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach, Frank Martin, was in his eighth season at South Carolina. The team played its home games at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 18–13, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They were set to take on Arkansas in the second round of the SEC tournament. However, the remainder of the SEC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2018–19 season finished the season 16–16, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 4th place. As a No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Ole Miss.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Hassani Gravett | 2 | G | 6'1" | 188 | RS Senior | Villa Rica, GA | Graduated |
| Tre Campbell | 4 | G | 6'2" | 183 | GS Senior | Washington, D.C. | Graduated |
| Felipe Haase | 13 | F | 6'9" | 253 | Sophomore | Osorno, Chile | Transferred to Mercer |
| Evan Hinston | 23 | G | 6'4" | 240 | Junior | Deltona, FL | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Chris Silva | 30 | F | 6'9" | 234 | Senior | Libreville, Gabon | Graduated/Undrafted in 2019 NBA draft |
| Jason Cudd | 33 | F | 7'1" | 263 | Sophomore | Myrtle Beach, SC | Transferred |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Micaiah Henry | 13 | C | 6'9" | 235 | RS Senior | Decatur, GA | Tennessee Tech |
| Seventh Woods | 25 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Columbia, SC | North Carolina |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Wildens Leveque C | Brockton, MA | Gould Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 12, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Trey Anderson SF | San Diego, CA | Mater Dei Catholic High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 21, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jalyn McCreary SF | Kennesaw, GA | Legacy Early College High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 12, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Trae Hannibal SG | Hartsville, SC | Hartsville High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | Jun 1, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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: "South Carolina 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. ||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Patrick Iriel C | Columbia, SC | A. C. Flora High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Aug 6, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "South Carolina 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019. |||||||

## Preseason
### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on October 15, 2019.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Florida |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Auburn |
| 5 | Tennessee |
| 6 | Alabama |
| 7 | Mississippi State |
| 8 | Ole Miss |
| 9 | Georgia |
| 10 | South Carolina |
| 11 | Arkansas |
| 12 | Texas A&M |
| 13 | Missouri |
| 14 | Vanderbilt |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Columbia International | W 87–50 | – | 23 – Lawson | 8 – Frink | 7 – Lawson | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | North Alabama | W 77–55 | 1–0 | 17 – Minaya | 11 – Minaya | 4 – Lawson | Colonial Life Arena (11,927) Columbia, SC |
| November 10, 2019* 12:00 pm, SECN | | Wyoming | W 66–32 | 2–0 | 12 – Tied | 7 – Frink | 3 – Minaya | Colonial Life Arena (10,255) Columbia, SC |
| November 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Cleveland State | W 90–63 | 3–0 | 28 – Lawson | 12 – Kotsar | 4 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (10,083) Columbia, SC |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Boston University Cancún Challenge campus site game | L 70–78 | 3–1 | 22 – Lawson | 7 – Tied | 5 – Lawson | Colonial Life Arena (10,113) Columbia, SC |
| November 22, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Gardner–Webb Cancún Challenge campus site game | W 74–69 | 4–1 | 16 – Tied | 6 – Kotsar | 6 – Couisnard | Colonial Life Arena (10,022) Columbia, SC |
| November 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Wichita State Cancún Challenge semifinals | L 47–70 | 4–2 | 12 – Kotsar | 8 – Leveque | 3 – Kotsar | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (1,311) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 27, 2019* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Northern Iowa Cancún Challenge | L 72–78 | 4–3 | 20 – Lawson | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Cancún, Mexico |
| December 1, 2019* 2:00 pm, SECN+ | | George Washington | W 74–65 | 5–3 | 17 – Kotsar | 9 – Kotsar | 4 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (9,843) Columbia, SC |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UMass | W 84–80 | 6–3 | 24 – Lawson | 9 – Kotsar | 6 – Couisnard | Mullins Center (3,043) Amherst, MA |
| December 8, 2019* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | Houston American/SEC Alliance | L 56–76 | 6–4 | 12 – Kotsar | 6 – Minaya | 4 – Minaya | Colonial Life Arena (11,164) Columbia, SC |
| December 15, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Clemson Rivalry | W 67–54 | 7–4 | 20 – Lawson | 7 – Kotsar | 3 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (6,394) Clemson, SC |
| December 22, 2019* 3:00 pm, ABC | | at No. 9 Virginia | W 70–59 | 8–4 | 22 – Bolden | 4 – Tied | 4 – Minaya | John Paul Jones Arena (14,409) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 30, 2019* 3:00 pm, SECN+ | | Stetson | L 56–63 | 8–5 | 11 – Kotsar | 9 – Minaya | 4 – Couisnard | Colonial Life Arena (10,985) Columbia, SC |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Florida | L 68–81 | 8–6 (0–1) | 18 – Kotsar | 10 – Kotsar | 3 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (10,651) Columbia, SC |
| January 11, 2020 1:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | L 55–56 | 8–7 (0–2) | 17 – Kotsar | 10 – Minaya | 2 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,603) Knoxville, TN |
| January 15, 2020 6:30 pm, SECN | | No. 10 Kentucky | W 81–78 | 9–7 (1–2) | 26 – Couisnard | 6 – Minaya | 3 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | W 81–67 | 10–7 (2–2) | 19 – Bolden | 10 – Kotsar | 7 – Kotsar | Reed Arena (7,466) College Station, TX |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 16 Auburn | L 67–80 | 10–8 (2–3) | 16 – Couisnard | 8 – Kotsar | 5 – Kotsar | Auburn Arena (8,430) Auburn, AL |
| January 25, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 90–64 | 11–8 (3–3) | 14 – Tied | 12 – Minaya | 5 – Hannibal | Colonial Life Arena (12,393) Columbia, SC |
| January 29, 2020 8:30 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 79–77 | 12–8 (4–3) | 19 – Lawson | 9 – Kotsar | 4 – Couisnard | Bud Walton Arena (14,085) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 1, 2020 3:30 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 76–54 | 13–8 (5–3) | 21 – Kotsar | 11 – Kotsar | 6 – Couisnard | Colonial Life Arena (14,678) Columbia, SC |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 70–84 | 13–9 (5–4) | 28 – Couisnard | 8 – Kotsar | 5 – Moss | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (6,990) Oxford, MS |
| February 8, 2020 1:00 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | W 74–54 | 14–9 (6–4) | 19 – Couisnard | 5 – Tied | 4 – Kotsar | Colonial Life Arena (13,388) Columbia, SC |
| February 12, 2020 6:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | W 75–59 | 15–9 (7–4) | 20 – Lawson | 9 – Frink | 4 – Couisnard | Stegeman Coliseum (8,857) Athens, GA |
| February 15, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | W 63–61 | 16–9 (8–4) | 13 – Kotsar | 8 – Kotsar | 2 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (15,085) Columbia, SC |
| February 19, 2020 9:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 76–79 | 16–10 (8–5) | 24 – Kotsar | 7 – Tied | 4 – Kotsar | Humphrey Coliseum (6,281) Starkville, MS |
| February 22, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | LSU | L 80–86 | 16–11 (8–6) | 15 – Tied | 10 – Bryant | 4 – Coulsnard | Colonial Life Arena (15,979) Columbia, SC |
| February 26, 2020 6:30 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 94–90 $^{OT}$ | 17–11 (9–6) | 22 – Frink | 10 – Tied | 4 – 4 tied | Colonial Life Arena (11,613) Columbia, SC |
| February 29, 2020 8:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 86–90 | 17–12 (9–7) | 22 – Bryant | 13 – Bryant | 5 – Couisnard | Coleman Coliseum (11,112) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| March 3, 2020 6:30 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | W 83–71 | 18–12 (10–7) | 20 – Kotsar | 7 – Bryant | 10 – Couisnard | Colonial Life Arena (10,889) Columbia, SC |
| March 7, 2020 12:30 pm, SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 74–83 | 18–13 (10–8) | 13 – Tied | 7 – Bryant | 4 – Kotsar | Memorial Gymnasium (10,852) Nashville, TN |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 9:30 pm, SECN | (6) | vs. (11) Arkansas Second round | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source: