No. 5 UCLA pulled off something no team has been able to do since the 2023 NCAA Tournament — it defeated No. 1 South Carolina. And soundly.

The Bruins downed the Gamecocks, 77-62, at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, ending South Carolina’s 43-game win streak,

The defending national champions, who went undefeated last season, hadn’t lost a game since the 2023 Final Four when they fell to Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Ironically, the Gamecocks had defeated UCLA in the Sweet 16 of that tournament.

The Bruins were led by five double-digit scorers in Sunday’s win, including junior guard Londynn Jones, who led all Bruins with 15 points.

Junior center Lauren Betts recorded yet another double-double, posting 11 points while grabbing 14 boards.

Freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo tallied 13 points, and junior guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez each finished with 11 points.

UCLA shot 47.5& from the field, including 47.6% from distance, as the Bruins made 10 3-pointers in the win.

They were able to come away with a double-digit victory despite turning the ball over 16 times. Meanwhile, they forced 11 turnovers, eight of which were steals. UCLA also recorded five blocks.

The Bruins won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding South Carolina 43 to 35. They also bested the Gamecocks in the assists department, 16-13.

UCLA never trailed and, at one point, held a 23-point lead.

With the win, the Bruins improve to a perfect 5-0 start. They will next face UT Martin on the road on Friday at 3 p.m. PST, 6 p.m. EST.

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After this weekend’s action, did the college football playoff open up enough for South Carolina to get in?

It was a chaotic weekend of college football as Ole Miss lost to Florida, Oklahoma dominated Alabama, Auburn beat Texas A&M in a thriller, Ohio State handled Indiana and Kansas upset Colorado. A lot of teams that were ahead of the South Carolina Gamecocks in the rankings, but the more important question is did enough spots open up for South Carolina to potentially sneak in?

The Gamecocks will certainly rise closer to the top 12 in the next release of the rankings. They came in at No. 18 this last week and will likely be somewhere around 15 in this week’s rankings. South Carolina might have been too far back to be on the back end of the playoff this go around, but they are certainly inching closer and closer.

There is however one problem for South Carolina. Despite Alabama losing, the Crimson Tide have virtually every edge for a playoff spot over the Gamecocks if a decision came down between them. Alabama has the head to head, they have the better win against Georgia, South Carolina lost to LSU and Alabama dominated LSU on the road. South Carolina does have the better strength of schedule ranking, but that hasn’t seemed to matter too much to the college football playoff committee.

The bottom line is South Carolina has played like on the best teams in college football as of late and has certainly done enough to put themselves into the conversation. However, if the decision came down to “which three loss SEC team do we want to put in?” the Crimson Tide likley check more boxes than South Carolina does.

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South Carolina and Clemson are set to meet in a game that could potentially carry some College Football Playoff implications, however slim they may be.

The Tigers are looking to crack into the field with two losses, and they need every bit of momentum they can get to continue their climb up the rankings. A win over a very good Gamecocks team would certainly help.

According to lines listed by FanDuel, Clemson will open as a 2.5-point favorite over South Carolina in the contest. The game’s over/under point total has also been set at 51.5 points.

That sets the expectation going into the game: The Tigers are favored by a bit, but certainly not enough that you can make any sweeping generalizations about how the game should go. The Gamecocks can wreck games with their defensive line.

How to watch South Carolina at Clemson

Time: 12 p.m. ET, Nov. 30
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Memorial Stadium — Clemson, SC

Both teams have had a significant turnaround in the second half of the season after starting a bit slow out of the gates.

South Carolina had winnable games against LSU and Alabama slip by, but the Gamecocks have now ripped off five straight wins behind an improved sense of confidence and crisp execution from LaNorris Sellers and company.

The Gamecocks are playing with a different edge, perhaps following the tone set by a defensive line that can absolutely undress opponents at times. The Tigers will have to find a way to block that very good defensive front.

But Clemson has been good in its own right of late. The Tigers did let a game against Louisville slip away, but they’ve won nine of the last 10 games and have looked dominant in a few of them.

Both teams are coming off blowouts of inferior opponents, so they should be both well-rested and ready to roll on rivalry weekend.

Vegas has the Clemson-South Carolina contest pegged as a pretty close game, so buckle up and get ready for another edition of one of the south’s top rivalries.