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Radford visits South Carolina after Murray-Boyles’ 22-point outing

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Radford visits South Carolina after Murray-Boyles’ 22-point outing


Associated Press

Radford Highlanders (10-4) at South Carolina Gamecocks (8-3)

Columbia, South Carolina; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina hosts Radford after Collin Murray-Boyles scored 22 points in South Carolina’s 91-88 overtime victory against the Clemson Tigers.

The Gamecocks are 6-1 in home games. South Carolina has a 1-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Highlanders have gone 3-4 away from home. Radford scores 77.1 points and has outscored opponents by 6.3 points per game.

South Carolina’s average of 8.0 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.6 fewer made shots on average than the 8.6 per game Radford allows. Radford has shot at a 44.9% rate from the field this season, 3.7 percentage points higher than the 41.2% shooting opponents of South Carolina have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Murray-Boyles is averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Gamecocks.

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Brandon Maclin is averaging 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Highlanders.

LAST 10 GAMES: Gamecocks: 8-2, averaging 76.9 points, 32.8 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Highlanders: 7-3, averaging 75.5 points, 38.2 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points.

___

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

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South-Carolina

Five things that must change for South Carolina basketball to go on an SEC Tournament run

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Five things that must change for South Carolina basketball to go on an SEC Tournament run


South Carolina basketball finished the 2024-2025 regular season with a 12-19 overall record and a 2-16 mark in SEC play. However, that doesn’t mean that the Gamecocks are done playing basketball just yet. The SEC Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 13th, and USC could advance to the NCAA Tournament with a (miraculous?) championship run in Nashville.

South Carolina received a bit of a favorable draw through the early rounds. Arkansas–a team USC whipped just a week ago–is up first, and then, Ole Miss would be next. As far as hoping for an improbable run, that’s a good start. So, what else needs to change for the Gamecocks to shock the Southeastern Conference?

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Playing Defense

Let’s get this one out of the way. Unlike last season, South Carolina is not a great defensive team this year. However, the Gamecocks have the potential to limit opponents to low scoring outputs thanks to a slower-than-average pace of play and physical play. For Lamont Paris’ team to overcome its league-worst offense and win games, they have to keep the numbers on the scoreboard low.

For that to be possible, Carolina needs starting bigs Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle to lock down the paint. Murray-Boyles is one of the best overall defenders in the conference, and Pringle has higher potential on that end of the floor than his numbers might indicate. When reserves Jordan Butler and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk play, they have to hold their own, as well.

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The most important part of the Gamecocks’ defensive effort, though, might be their 3-point defense. This season, South Carolina ranks 14th in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage allowed. Giving up easy looks from outside can’t happen in Nashville, or it will be a short stay in the Volunteer State.

Valuing the Basketball

On offense, South Carolina struggles. Perhaps the team’s biggest issue on that end of the floor is that they don’t value the basketball. The Gamecocks turn the ball over at the fourth-worst rate per game in the SEC. They also drop too many rebounds at times (not resulting in turnovers but losing a possession, nonetheless) and fumble passes that could have resulted in open shot attempts.

In South Carolina’s two SEC wins this year, the Gamecocks have averaged just 9.5 turnovers. In their 16 losses, that number is over 13 per game. Considering USC lost six SEC games this season by just one or two possessions and nine SEC games by 10 points or fewer, that 3.5-turnover average difference was impactful. Improving ball security should be a major priority this week.

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Running the Offense

South Carolina’s point guard play has been a major point of conversation all this season. Neither Jamarii Thomas nor Jacobi Wright are traditional point guards but have been forced into starting duties on the perimeter this year. Whether it is Thomas or Wright stepping up as facilitators or secondary distributors like Collin Murray-Boyles or Zach Davis doing so, the Gamecock playmakers need to do a good job of running their offense and setting up their teammates.

In stark contrast to the Ta’Lon Cooper-led offense of a season ago, this year’s Gamecocks rank 14th in the SEC in total assists and barely have a positive assist-turnover ratio.

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Carolina hasn’t won a game this year in which they have had fewer than 12 assists. They also are 7-3 in games in which they’ve dished out at least 15 dimes. That’s an impressive number for a team that has just 12 wins all year. Copying that blueprint will be essential if South Carolina has any shot at making an unexpected run this week.

Earning Confidence

To win five games at the SEC Tournament, South Carolina will have to play with more confidence than they have all year. The Gamecocks could earn some of that needed confidence in the tourney’s early rounds.

A week ago, South Carolina smacked the Arkansas Razorbacks around to the tune of a 72-53 win. The game also wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated. Perhaps that could serve as a springboard into better play. Plus, if the Gamecocks pick up a pair of wins on Wednesday (Arkansas) and Thursday (Ole Miss), that would be the team’s first two-game winning streak since December.

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What might South Carolina be able to accomplish if they consistently play with confidence for the first time in months?

Getting a Little Lucky

Frankly, unless a team is dominant (and South Carolina is not that), tournament runs require a little bit of luck. So far this season, the Gamecocks have not been very lucky.

In fact, according to hoops analytics guru Ken Pomeroy, USC ranks 343rd nationally in luck. That means that only 21 teams in the country have had a worse ratio of positive play to positive results this season. Essentially, Carolina has deserved to win several games this year that they wound up losing.

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For an SEC Tournament run to happen for the men in garnet and black, the Gamecocks likely need Lady Luck to be on their side more than she has been.

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South Carolina’s SEC Tournament road starts on Wednesday. The No. 16-seed Gamecocks’ matchup with the No. 9-seed Arkansas Razorbacks will tip at Noon. SEC Network will broadcast the game, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming.

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MiLaysia Fulwiley Sends One-Word Message on South Carolina’s March Madness Mindset

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MiLaysia Fulwiley Sends One-Word Message on South Carolina’s March Madness Mindset


After a rough stretch in February (relative to their typical greatness), the South Carolina Gamecocks have returned to form and look like arguably the most formidable team in all of women’s college basketball heading into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

This was proven by their dominant win over the Texas Longhorns in the SEC Conference Tournament championship game on March 30, which vaulted them up to the No. 2 spot in the latest AP Rankings.

After that win, sophomore standout MiLaysia Fulwiley sent a message to any South Carolina critics by saying, “I feel like the outsiders are trying to find any reason to put us down. Or like, I think they’re honestly just tired of us being on top, really. So just to come out here and execute our coach’s game plan, it means a lot to us.”

This seems to convey Fulwiley and her team’s motivations heading into March Madness. And as part of a March 10 Q&A article that included Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts, and Joyce Edwards (which was released in tandem with them being on the cover of a recent WSLAM cover), Fulwiley boiled down South Carolina’s mindset to one word.

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“Determined,” Fulwiley said when asked, ‘What’s one word to describe this team at the beginning of the season, one word to describe the team right now and one where you hope to be at the end of the season?’

She then added, “Everybody is so determined.”

After her teammates offered their own answers, Fulwiley followed up with, “Champs.”

A determined Gamecocks squad with something to prove is a terrifying prospect for their future March Madness opponents.





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WATCH: Oklahoma Coach Patty Gasso, 3B Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and P Audrey Lowry South Carolina Postgame

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WATCH: Oklahoma Coach Patty Gasso, 3B Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and P Audrey Lowry South Carolina Postgame


RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is managing editor at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City.

Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more.

Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com.

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Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters.

Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 



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