South-Carolina
Meet the Opponent: South Carolina Gives Indiana First High-Major Matchup
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.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer has been nominated for a position in foreign diplomacy.
The White House on Tuesday listed Bauer as a nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belize, a Central American country bordering Guatemala.
It’s unclear when a confirmation hearing will take place. WIS has reached out to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee for more information.
Bauer was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor from 2003-2011, serving under then-Gov. Mark Sanford. Before that, he served terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate.
More recently, Bauer entered the race for U.S. Senate in July 2025, looking to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary. He ended his campaign the following month.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
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