Following a 74-71 loss to North Florida in the season opener, South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris spoke to the media about his team’s performance and where things went wrong. Here’s what he had to say.

— Sure the metrics are really going to like this outcome as far as the Gamecocks are concerned. Helpfully this will be good for them. Thinks they were outplayed in a lot of different ways. It’s okay not to play well. Thats going to happen at times. But as competitors, North Florida dominated them.

— Knew North Florida was a scrappy bunch. Their DNA is how hard they play and compete. Every loose ball, they were their first. That’s DNA.

— If he’s being honest, last night had him really worried about what to expect from North Florida. They did all the right things. Multiple guys didn’t have a good day at the office.

— Some guys shoot better free throws than others. Others can improve over time. It’s a one-game sample size. They’re not going to shoot like they did today all the time. When your name gets called at the free throw line, stand up. You have to go up there and make them. They had some lack of discipline plays also. It was his dream going all season without fouling on a three-point shot and they only made it into game one before doing that.

— It’s hard to coach effort. Not a big fan of coaching effort. They approach the game the same way regardless of who they play. Maybe part of it was hyping them up too much for this game.

— They have to play better. They have to pass and catch better. You do a scouting report. They don’t just go out to the court and go willy nilly. They watch film, do a scouting report on the opponent. Thinks it’s about the attention to detail. Interested to see how many of the offensive rebounds were long rebounds. They got off to a slow start and the energy was not great. Knows the vibe when it’s like okay here we are. Didn’t feel like they felt that throughout the game.

— Agrees that the sky is not falling. It’s history. They could’ve also won the game. The metrics still didn’t like them last year when they lost one game in non-conference play. They’ve just got to play. Focus on improvement. This helps force you to look at the loss and why the game ended up in a situation that it was.

— They’ll troubleshoot all the time when in reference to a question about playing time. Guys will have to earn what they’re doing out there. The prized possession is playing in the final minutes. They’ll have to show and demonstrate where that’s where they should be. They’ll try to find the perfect mix of what the lineup is.

— Definitely earned exactly what they got today. They got what they earned ultimately on the way they played.

— Thinks they’ll go back to fundamentals. Doesn’t have a lot of frustration in games because guys normally do what they have done. Doesnt really get that frustrated with poor play on game day. But does get frustrated having to repeat himself over and over. These things he says, you need evidence that they are true sometimes. So that’s what where they’ll start (fouling on the three-point shot). Would like to have those points back. Pump faking. They did it twice jumping on those. They easily could’ve flipped those around by the way they practiced and what they talked about going into this game.

— A strength of last year’s team was locking into the small details that allowed them to win games. The challenge will be helping acknowledge the value of those things and how they relate to winning. Has to do a better job of that on his end.

For the second week in a row, South Carolina football has found its familiar time slot.

The Gamecocks will host Missouri on Nov. 16 in a 4:15 p.m. ET kick-off on SEC Network, the exact same start time and channel designation as their trip to Vanderbilt this Saturday. It will also be the middle of three straight gmes in a similar window, with the week 13 game against Wofford already set for a 4:00 p.m. ET kick-off on ESPN+.

South Carolina is attempting to snap a five-gam losing streak in the series, with its last victory over Missouri coming back in 2018. The Tigers won last year’s game 34-12, and won their last trip to South Carolina by a 23-10 count in 2022.

Missouri is currently 6-2 (2-2 SEC) on the season, and will host Oklahoma this weekend before taking on South Carolina the following Saturday.

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ANN ARBOR — Michigan, with a revamped roster that could include three freshmen starters, faces the ultimate test to open the season.

The Wolverines play No. 1 South Carolina, the defending national champions, on Monday night in Las Vegas (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

“At the end of last (season) I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we agreed to this,’” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said recently. “And then I called (freshmen) Syla (Swords) and Olivia (Olson) and they’re like, ‘Let’s go, Coach. This is awesome.’ We want to play against the best and test ourselves against the best that there is.”

South Carolina certainly qualifies. The Gamecocks went 38-0 last season, outscoring opponents by an average of 29 points per game. That included a 12-point win over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the national championship, their second title in three years.

South Carolina lost star center Kamilla Cardoso to the WNBA but returns 87 percent of its minutes and 84 percent of its scoring from last season. In the preseason AP poll, South Carolina garnered 27 of 30 first-place votes.

“It will be great competition for sure,” Barnes Arico said, “and a great measuring stick early in the season.”

Michigan has faced No. 1 just once before, losing 89-54 to Iowa on Feb. 7, 1988.

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On her radio show last week, Barnes Arico highlighted South Carolina’s size, toughness, and athleticism. MiLaysia Fulwiley (a sophomore who plays like Russell Westbrook in his prime) and Te-Hina Papao form one of the country’s best backcourts.

Frontcourt starters Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin are among the seven Gamecocks who stand at least 6-foot-2 (including two who are 6-5). Freshman Joyce Edwards is the No. 3 recruit in the country, per ESPN, one of three five-star prospects to join the program this season.

Barnes Arico knows South Carolina coach Dawn Staley well. They’re the same age; Staley was in Philadelphia at Temple while Barnes Arico was at St. John’s in New York. Barnes Arico was an assistant on Staley’s staff with USA basketball in 2014 and 2015, as the United States won a pair of gold medals at FIBA youth events.

After chaotic offseason, Jordan Hobbs is still here for Michigan basketball

“She’s one of the best coaches in the business,” Barnes Arico said. “But I’m even more impressed with how she has used her platform and voice to fight for opportunities for women in this game. I think she’s really made a difference.” Barnes Arico’s daughter, Cece Arico, a top-20 player in the 2027 class, holds a scholarship offer from South Carolina.

Michigan traveled west on Saturday to get acclimated to the three-hour time difference, with the plan to practice at the Aces’ practice facility on Saturday and T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. Monday’s game is part of the Hall of Fame series, a doubleheader that includes a men’s game between Ohio State and Texas at 10 p.m. ET.

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