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Ole Miss basketball vs South Carolina score prediction, scouting report for key SEC game

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Ole Miss basketball vs South Carolina score prediction, scouting report for key SEC game


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OXFORD — Ole Miss basketball failed to hold serve at home last week, splitting games with Mississippi State and Auburn.

Now, if it wants to remain in the top half of the SEC, it will have to steal one of two upcoming road games on the schedule. The first comes on Tuesday (5:30 p.m., SEC Network), when the Rebels (18-4, 5-4 SEC) travel to play surging South Carolina (19-3, 7-2).

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Here’s what to watch for.

Two of college basketball’s biggest turnaround stories clash

Roughly 11 months ago, Ole Miss and South Carolina met in Nashville as two of the four teams obligated to play on the unglamorous first day of the SEC Tournament.

The Gamecocks had just concluded a four-win regular season riddled with dysfunction to start Lamont Paris’ tenure as coach. The Rebels had fired former coach Kermit Davis after recording just three SEC wins and were playing out the schedule under interim Win Case.

Now, both reside in the top five of the SEC. Paris’ second season in charge has made South Carolina one of college basketball’s best stories. Winners of five straight, the Gamecocks have conference victories over Kentucky and Tennessee and have lost once at home all season.

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Ole Miss has enjoyed a similar renaissance in its first season under coach Chris Beard. The Rebels finished their nonconference slate unbeaten and have proven themselves capable of winning in the SEC, though a recent loss to Auburn halted the momentum from a three-game winning streak.

Meechie Johnson and Jaylen Murray set for intriguing guard matchup

South Carolina’s leading scorer is its point guard, Meechie Johnson, who is in his second season with the program after transferring in from Ohio State.

Johnson averages 14.9 points per game, and is a willing 3-point shooter, attempting nearly six in each contest and shooting 35.2% from beyond the arc.

He’ll be met by Ole Miss point guard Jaylen Murray, an offseason find by Beard out of St. Peter’s who has blossomed as a Rebel. Murray gives the Rebels 14.5 points per contest and is also prolific from beyond the arc, where he shoots 43%.

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The clash of off-the-ball guards is equally interesting, with a pair of veterans in that spot. South Carolina’s Ta’Lon Cooper is the second-best 3-point shooter in the SEC at 47.4%. He’s also a willing facilitator, posting 4.4 assists per game.

The Rebels rely on their two-guard, Mattew Murrell, for 16.8 points per game. He’s unlocked a newfound efficiency under Beard, shooting a career-high 47% from the field on the season.

BEARD: Why Chris Beard said Ole Miss basketball lacked mental toughness vs Auburn and how he plans to respond

Keep an eye on status of Jamarion Sharp pregame for Ole Miss basketball

Jamarion Sharp, Ole Miss’ 7-foot-5 rim protector, missed Saturday’s game against Auburn with what a team spokesperson described as a non-COVID illness.

“At this point, he’s kind of day-to-day,” Beard said Saturday.

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The Rebels certainly missed Sharp against the Tigers. His absence asked a lot of fellow center Moussa Cisse, who played for 24 minutes ‒ six more than his previous average in SEC games.

Auburn dominated Ole Miss on the offensive glass, something that has been arguably the biggest problem for the Rebels this season. Ole Miss has one of the worst defensive rebounding percentages in all of college basketball, and the worst in the SEC.

South Carolina is a strong offensive-rebounding team, at 33.5% on the season. Whether or not Sharp plays, finding a way to mitigate that will be a major key for Ole Miss.

Ole Miss basketball vs. South Carolina score prediction

South Carolina 78, Ole Miss 74. If Ole Miss can defend the way it did on the road against Texas A&M two games ago, it can win this one. But the Rebels haven’t proven they can do that consistently on the road in conference play.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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South-Carolina

South Carolina’s Shane Beamer Issues a Challenge to Gamecocks’ Fans

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South Carolina’s Shane Beamer Issues a Challenge to Gamecocks’ Fans


South Carolina will welcome the Wofford Terriers for the last home game of the season inside Williams-Brice Stadium. Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer spoke on the matchup and challeneged fans to show up for a special night.

Coach Beamer opened the press conference announcing this game as the Salute to Service game. This is a special moment for Beamer as it gives his program an opportunity to thank those who have served or are currently serving.

“Saturday is our Salute The Troops game,” Coach Beamer said. “It’s always one of the highlights of the season for me. So grateful for them. All of the miliatry branches, the men and women,the sacrifices they make for their service to our country. Really proud and honored to be able to recognize them this Saturday.”

Not only is it the Salute to Service game, but with it being the last home game of the 2024 season it’s also Senior Night. Coach Beamer wants to send a special group of seniors out the right way.

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“We need to make sure we honor the seniors the right way on Saturday. Gamecock Walk needs to be electric because for so many of those seniors that will be getting honored on Saturday that is the last Gamecock Walk they’ll ever get to do. We will honor them right after pre-game warmups, right around 3:30ish,” Coach Beamer said about Senior Night.

Then a challeneged was issued to Gamecock fans. This is the last time these players will get to walk into Williams-Brice Stadium and suit up in front of a raucous crowd. Coach Beamer stressed the importance of getting there early and being loud.

“I would ask all of our fans to shut the tailgates down early. There’s plenty of opportunities in the future, God willing, to tailgate. This will be the last opportunity, and only opportunity, to recognize a really special group of seniors. I would love nothing more than for Williams-Brice Stadium to be absolutely packed thirty miniutes before kickoff, so we can give those seniors that’ll be playing their last game in Williams-Brice Stadium the recognition with their families on the field and the ovation that they deserve,” Coach Beamer on the fans importance for this game.

Saturday’s matchup against Wofford will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2017. Wofford comes into the game with over 30 players on their roster from the state of South Carolina. The staff knows how excited the Terriers will be for this matchup.

“Coach Watson has done a nice job there in his time,” Coach Beamer speaks on this week’s game. “The improvements they made from last to this season are evident. Proud program with a ton of tradition. Obviously 37 players on their team from the state of south carolina, so we know how juiced up they’ll be for this week.”

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Finally, Coach Beamer gave an update on the team’s injury list heading into the weekend.

“Obviously Brady Hunt won’t play. Outside of that, I would say that we’re optimistic on everyone else that didn’t finish the game. Judge Collier should be fine. He practiced today,” Coach Beamer updates the team’s injury.

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South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Malik Clark

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South Carolina football recruiting profiles: Malik Clark


South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer and his coaching staff have less than three weeks before National Signing Day. (Remember when recruits signed in February?) The Early Signing Period begins Wednesday, December 4th, and the majority of teams’ high school recruiting classes will be completed by the time the Early Signing Period ends on Friday, December 6th. In the weeks leading up to NSD, GamecockCentral will profile each player in the 2025 recruiting class. Today, we will look at wide receiver Malik Clark.

Malik Clark (4-star, Wide Receiver6’2.5″, 180 pounds)

What the rankings say: 4-star in On3 industry rankings, No. 177 nationally, No. 2 in South Carolina, No. 23 among all wide receivers; Malik Clark is a consensus 4-star prospect

[See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]

Malik Clark is a stud. The Rock Hill High School product is everything a coach could want in a wide receiver. He’s fast (clocked in the 10.5 range in the 100-meter and 4.35 in the 40-yard dash). He’s big (listed at 6’2.5″ and 180 pounds with a frame that could hold more weight). And he’s got ridiculous hands (check out the catch at this line).

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Clark is a consensus 4-star prospect for a reason. He is extremely talented, and it’s not all just future potential; he’s already really good. Before the playoffs even began, Clark put together the first 1000-yard receiving season in Rock Hill High history this season.

The type of receiver who can develop into “the man” on the outside, Clark can beat defense deep but has enough wiggle in his bag to be a factor in the quick game or in the short-to-intermediate passing game, as well. He is fast, but he also plays with real physicality. He excels at winning contested catches and bouncing off of weak tackle attempts.

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Clark’s combination of size and speed will make him a special teams candidate as soon as he steps on campus. However, he’s good enough that he might play immediately on offense. Playing time will be available for the Gamecocks at wide receiver in 2025. With at least three players leaving via graduation, youngsters like Clark could force their way onto the field. In fact, it seems likely that at least one of the freshmen will earn significant early playing time. It could be the in-state standout.

Clark is one of five receiver commitments in the South Carolina football recruiting class of 2025, along with Jayden Sellers, Brian Rowe, Lex Cyrus, and Jordon Gidron. With a chance of adding another name, this year’s haul of pass-catchers is one of the best in the country.

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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Wofford football game]

You can watch some of Clark’s film below.



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Top 2027 signal-caller recaps 'perfect' couple of days at South Carolina

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Top 2027 signal-caller recaps 'perfect' couple of days at South Carolina


Jupiter (Fla.) Spanish River quarterback Champ Smith is one of only a handful of quarterbacks in the 2027 class with an offer offer from South Carolina and the 6-foot-1, 175-pound signal caller was in Columbia over the weekend to get an in-depth look at the program as it took down Missouri in a thriller.



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