Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Chris Arias had 19 points in Jacksonville’s 71-62 win over South Carolina State on Thursday night.

Arias went 7 of 9 from the field (5 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Dolphins (2-2). Zach Bell scored 18 points while going 7 of 14 (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and added eight rebounds. Robert McCray, Kendall Munson and Zimi Nwokeji all had nine points.

Omar Croskey finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs (2-2). Drayton Jones added 12 points for South Carolina State. Mitchel Taylor finished with 10 points and two steals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s nonconference schedule this season is heavily weighted toward the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. In the Bahamas, the Hoosiers will face Louisville first and could see No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 9 Arizona later.

That makes Saturday’s game against South Carolina Indiana’s only nonconference game against a power conference opponent at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The rest of the slate consists of mid-major opponents the Hoosiers should handle.

The Gamecocks are off to a 2-1 start and lost a few critical pieces from last year’s team, which finished second in the SEC and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament under coach Lamont Paris. After being ranked for eight weeks last season, South Carolina is outside the AP Top 25 poll and ranked No. 61 nationally by KenPom this year.

While it may not be the marquee opponent Indiana has hosted in recent seasons, like North Carolina or Kansas, a team from the SEC like South Carolina provides the Hoosiers with a test prior to Big Ten play.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Gamecocks.

Key returners

Key newcomers

Key departures 

(2023-24 stats)

2024-25 Schedule

Head coach Lamont Paris

South Carolina is in its third season under coach Lamont Paris. The Gamecocks went 11-21 in his first year, but they were one of the nation’s most improved teams in 2023-24, going 26-8 and finishing tied for second in the SEC standings at 13-5. Unranked in the preseason, South Carolina made the final eight AP Top 25 polls and peaked at No. 11 in the nation. The Gamecocks earned a No. 6 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament but lost 87-73 in the Round of 64 to No. 11 seed Oregon. Paris, 50, was named 2024 SEC Coach of the Year and was one of four finalists for the Naismith national coach of the year award. 

Paris previously coached at Chattanooga, where he went 87-72 and reached the NCAA Tournament during the 2021-22 season. Prior to his first head coaching job with the Mocs, Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin, Akron, Indiana University-Pennsylvania, DePauw and Wooster. He played at Wooster, a Division III program in Ohio, from 1992-96.

Strengths

South Carolina is led by power forward Collin Murray-Boyles, who’s projected to go No. 14 overall in ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft. Murray-Boyles is a 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore who averages a team-high 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last season and has elevated his game in the early stages of this season, nearly doubling his scoring and rebounding averages.

Murray-Boyles also averages 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game, contributing all over the floor for the Gamecocks. He’s an efficient scorer around the rim, shooting 62.9% from the field this season, though he’s not a 3-point shooting threat – 0-for-5 in his college career. Indiana’s Malik Reneau will likely draw the matchup on Murray-Boyles, and it’ll be important for him to stay out of foul trouble in Saturday’s game.

After losing starting guards Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper, senior Jacobi Wright has played a larger role this season. He has started 25 games across his first three seasons at South Carolina, but mostly came off the bench last season. Wright is averaging 16 points through three games this year, with an impressive 7-for-15 start from 3-point range. 

As a team, South Carolina’s defense has held opponents to a 41.1% effective field goal percentage, which ranks 32nd nationally. After its season-opening loss to North Florida, Towns shot just 29.6% from the field and South Carolina State shot 35.8%.

Weaknesses

South Carolina began the season with a home loss to North Florida, which could prove costly down the road. In a 74-71 loss, the Gamecocks left a lot of points out there by making just 14-of-25 free throws. They struggled from 3-point range, too, making 5-of-16 attempts. Murray-Boyles is usually a reliable scorer around the basket, but he went 6-for-15 against North Florida, just the sixth time in his college career he’s shot 40% or worse from the field.

South Carolina also allowed 13 offensive rebounds against North Florida and was out-rebounded 37-34 in total. North Florida finished 10-for-29 from 3-point range, seven of which came from bench players. North Florida followed that up with wins over Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech, and it played Georgia tough, too. But that loss will be a blemish on South Carolina’s resume all year. 

Across three games, South Carolina has had no issue getting to the free throw line, as it ranks 52nd nationally in attempt rate. But it hasn’t cashed in on those opportunities, ranking 231st in free throw percentage. The Gamecocks also play at a slow pace and are ranked 308th in adjusted tempo, so they’re not getting many easy points in transition. Opponents are also averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, putting South Carolina 352nd in that category.

Season outlook

South Carolina won 26 games last season, which matched a program record with coach Frank Martin’s team that reached the 2017 Final Four. Many considered Lamont Paris to have done one of the nation’s best coaching jobs last season. But after losing three of its top four scorers, the Gamecocks are expected to take a step back in Paris’ third season. That’s already been seen with their season-opening loss to North Florida.

South Carolina was picked to finish 11th out of 16 teams in the preseason SEC poll, behind nine teams that made the preseason AP Top 25 poll. South Carolina has some high-level talent with players like Murray-Boyles, Wright and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle, but it may not have the depth to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1997-98.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer remembers watching a lot of quarterback Drew Pyne a few years back. Beamer anticipates seeing a lot more of Pyne this weekend.

Pyne, Missouri’s backup behind injured starter Brady Cook, is prepping to start for the 24th-ranked Tigers (7-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) when they take on No. 23 South Carolina (6-3, 4-3) on Saturday.

Beamer was an assistant for Oklahoma when Pyne was the Sooners’ top quarterback prospect. The Gamecocks coach recalled the first recruiting trip Sooners coach Lincoln Riley ever sent him on was to New Canaan, Connecticut, to watch Pyne as a high schooler.

“He was our top quarterback that we were recruiting at Oklahoma,” Beamer said this week.

Beamer and Oklahoma lost out to Notre Dame, where Pyne started 10 games in 2022. He then went to Arizona State last season before joining the Tigers.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said Cook’s availability — he got hurt two games ago midway through the loss to Alabama — would not be known until later in the week. But the Tigers would plan for Pyne to start once more.

Pyne subbed in against Alabama and threw three interceptions in a 34-0 loss two weeks ago. He tossed three touchdowns in the 30-23 win over Oklahoma. Drinkwitz said Pyne has settled into the position the more reps he’s gotten and is confident that progression will continue through practice and into the game with South Carolina.

“I think that’s just going to be a little bit easier and easier each week, as we repeat some of the same plays,” Drinkwitz said. “Different ways, but the same plays.”

Cook’s string of 35 straight starts for Missouri ended last week. Beamer said the Tigers have one of the SEC’s best receiver groups and any passer will look to Luther Burden III and Theo Wease downfield. “And no matter who the quarterback is back there, they’re going to do that,” Beamer said.

Stunning finish

Missouri pulled off a late-game stunner to defeat Oklahoma with when Zion Young returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining. Triston Newson sacked Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold and knocked the ball loose. Young, a defensive end, picked it up and raced in for the score. He called the play a “surreal moment.”

Playoff position

It’s South Carolina’s first game as a ranked team in two years. They also were included at No. 22 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Missouri was in the AP top 10 earlier this season before falling out — and returning this week at No. 24. The Tigers are 23rd in the CFP rankings.

Missouri dominance

The Tigers have had their way with South Carolina in recent years, winning the past five games in a series where the winner receives the Mayor’s Cup since both campuses are located in the city of Columbia in their respective states.

Arkansas’ Rocket

South Carolina has gotten a big boost from tailback Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in winning its past three SEC games with the last two coming against ranked opponents in then-No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 24 Vanderbilt. Sanders, who rushed for 1,443 yards at Arkansas two years ago, finally looks healthy after dealing with injuries last year and earlier this season. He’s run for 100 or more yards the past two weeks and accounted for five of his 10 touchdowns during the Gamecocks current win streak.

Close calls

If this game is close, look for Missouri to call on its past success in tight contests. The Tigers have won all four one-score games they’ve played this year against Boston College (27-21), Vanderbilt (30-27, OT), Auburn (21-17) and Oklahoma (30-23). Coach Drinkwitz said its a complete team effort to do what’s needed to succeed.

“They’ve all had a little bit different flavor,” he said of the games. “So, I think it’s just all three phases of the game and needing to work together to find ways to win.”

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