A three-game losing streak has blossomed for the Kentucky Wildcats, and Mark Pope needs to find a way to nip this losing streak in the bud. The Wildcats will have an opportunity to end this losing streak when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Tuesday night.

South Carolina is a team that many will argue is the worst in the SEC, right there with LSU and Oklahoma. Technically, the team that is currently in last place in the SEC is LSU, and it took a Malachi Moreno miracle shot to win on the road in Baton Rouge. This means that while the Gamecocks haven’t been good this season, if Kentucky doesn’t play well, this game will be tough to win.

The Gamecocks have a seasoned veteran guard in Meechie Johnson, who has given the Wildcats a ton of problems in the past. Johnson is having a great year for the Gamecocks, averaging 17.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.

When the Wildcats lost on Saturday to the Auburn Tigers, this Auburn team was on a five-game losing streak. It was starting to look like they could miss the NCAA Tournament, and they were incredibly desperate. This desperation showed as they never went away and found a way to take down the Wildcats.

In this game, the Gamecocks have absolutely nothing to play for, and the crowd likely won’t be great. The Wildcats will be the more desperate team, and as Auburn did, the Wildcats need to play like it.

Some fans don’t like to use the word must-win game but without the shadow of a doubt, this is a must-win game for Pope’s Wildcats. Let’s take a look at what the analytics have to say about this matchup between the Wildcats and Gamecocks.

Analytics predict the winner between Kentucky and South Carolina

KenPom

KenPom does believe the Kentucky Wildcats will make the trip down to South Carolina and win this basketball game. The top analytics page predicts Kentucky to win this game with the final score being 77-71.

ESPN

ESPN also believes the Kentucky Wildcats won’t have any kind of trouble getting the job done on the road in Columbia as they give the Wildcats a 75.6% chance to win this ball game.

If the Wildcats are not able to win this ball game conversations of Pope’s team missing the NCAA Tournament will fully be on the table.

Off the bat, it looked like a flyout to right field, and perhaps on most days, it would have been. But not with the wind blowing out, and certainly not with South Carolina’s hottest hitter at the plate.

With winds gusting to around 16 miles per hour, Will Craddock’s fly ball turned into something more. It kept carrying as Air Force right fielder Brooks Burdine drifted back to the wall, looking confused about what had just happened.

“I can pretty much judge when a ball is going to be gone or not, after being as old as I am and seeing so many balls hit through the years,” head coach Paul Mainieri said. “But I thought Will crushed it, and he told me, ‘When I hit it, there was no doubt it was gone.’ We were fortunate it went out.”

Instead, the seemingly routine flyout turned into a leadoff home run for Craddock, who has now accomplished that feat in back-to-back games. It helped get the Gamecocks off to another good start in a 4-2 win over Air Force to wrap up Salute the Troops Weekend on Sunday.

Your GamecockCentral membership starts at just $1 – and we’ll throw in a complimentary year of access to The Athletic.

Craddock’s first week of college baseball couldn’t have gone much better as the freshman first baseman went 8-for-15 (.533) with two homers and six RBI. He finished 2-for-4 with a solo shot and a double in the weekend finale.

The Gamecocks (6-2) didn’t have their best day at the plate, but they did enough early to create some breathing room. They broke out for three more runs in the second inning, starting with an RBI single by Beau Hollins, who went 2-for-2 and reached base in his three plate appearances.

Luke Yuhasz later grounded out to third base with no outs to bring home Hollins. After another base hit for Craddock, Patrick Evans laced an RBI double down the left-field line.

“I really attribute it to outstanding relief pitching by (Air Force),” Mainieri said on the lack of run scoring after a fast start. “They had really good relievers, and we had really good relievers, and the conditions were really difficult to hit in. So there wasn’t much scoring after his first couple innings. I just thought our bullpen just did a tremendous job, and we did just enough to win. So it was a gritty, hard-fought win for us.”

Brandon Stone didn’t give the Gamecocks much length in his second start of the year, largely because of a 34-pitch first inning. As a result, the right-hander lasted only three innings, allowing one run while striking out five and walking two. But the bullpen did its job in picking him up.

Logan Prisco gave up one run in 1.1 innings of work and walked one over 35 pitches. Zach Russell allowed one hit and struck out two over 1.2 innings. Russell picked up his second win of the year and hasn’t given up a run in any of his three appearances so far this year.

“I’d say just attacking the zone, getting ahead,” Russell said on what’s worked best for him. “It’s a problem I kind of had last year. Just walks, not getting ahead. I’ve been throwing a new cutter that’s been working pretty good.”

Alex Valentin went the final three innings and picked up his second save of the year. He struck out three while allowing only one hit.

The left-hander has proven capable of pitching well in relief, but Mainieri isn’t entirely sure how the Gamecocks will use him moving forward, whether that means keeping him in the bullpen or shifting him into a different role.

“Alex is fearless. I mean, he’s got talent,” Mainieri said. “He throws up to 94 miles an hour left-handed, and he’s got a good slider and a good change-up, but the biggest thing of all is he’s fearless. … He thinks he can do anything out there, and I love that about him. He’s a great competitor, throws a lot of strikes. What’s not to like? I think he’s outstanding. I think he could handle any role we give him.”

Up next: South Carolina will host Queens on Wednesday evening at Founders Park. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) – This week, South Carolina leaders on mourned the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, remembering the Greenville native as a towering figure in the civil rights movement whose decades of activism reshaped American politics and opened doors for generations of Black leaders.

Gov. Henry McMaster called Jackson “a native son of South Carolina, and an icon of the civil rights movement.”

McMaster said he would direct flags over the State House to be lowered at the appropriate time to honor Jackson’s legacy and memory.

Congressman Jim Clyburn called Jackson “one of the most quintessential civil rights leaders” and recalled their lifelong friendship, which began at rival South Carolina high schools and continued in college.

Clyburn highlighted Jackson’s early activism in Greenville in 1960, including efforts to desegregate the public library and lead sit-ins, and his founding of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to uplift the “voiceless and downtrodden.”

He also noted Jackson’s presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, as well as his work with Operation Breadbasket, anti-apartheid activism, voter registration, and corporate diversity initiatives, which advanced opportunity and equality for Black Americans.

It should not be lost on any of us the impact that Reverend Jackson has had on the nation, Black Americans, and movements to encourage civic participation around the world. His vision is his legacy, and his teachings continue to inspire me as I continue the pursuit of justice and equality, Clyburn said.

President and CEO of the Columbia Urban League, J.T. McLawhorn also said Jackson achieved international objectives that helped secure the release of dozens of hostages and prisoners in situations where the U.S. government had been unable to do so.

I consider him a global diplomat. Look at him, he should have received the Nobel peace prize because I think a lot of people look at Dr. Jackson as someone who only promoted equal opportunity in the south, but he was a global person.

CAMPUS SAFETY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

In the wake of this month’s deadly double shooting at South Carolina State, lawmakers at the State House are moving forward with a proposal aimed at tightening safety requirements on college campuses across South Carolina.

The state House Education and Public Works Committee voted unanimously Thursday morning to immediately send a college safety bill, H-5205, to the House floor.

The proposal has been under discussion for several months and would strengthen security measures and improve emergency response on college campuses as schools across the state continue to face concerns about violence and campus readiness.

“I pray that the parents see that we’re trying to protect their children as well and that’s important,” said Rep. Terry Alexander, a Democrat from Florence County.

Beaufort County Republican Shannon Erickson, the committee chairwoman, said the bill is intended to address urgent safety concerns for students and families.

“Our families need the confidence that their children are going to safe place when they’re there. We’ve been working on the campus safety bill for quite some time and I think recent events really pushed us forward in moving it in a faster way,” Erickson said.

RELATED || After fatal shooting, South Carolina State announces tighter visitor access, dorm checks

Erickson said last week’s shooting at South Carolina State intensified the call for change.

Two teenagers were killed and a student who was wounded remains in the hospital. It was the second deadly campus shooting at South Carolina State since October.

“It really hit home for us. SC State is one of our most wonderful historically Black Colleges, we are very supportive of their administration and what they’re trying to do and what we now know is that this crime came from unaffiliated people and that is a problem we’ve got to address. That’s the piece that really hit home to us what could have been different,” Erickson said.

If the proposal passes, college campuses would be required to provide mandatory safety training for students during orientation or within their first 30 days.

Campuses would also be required to report both student-affiliated and non-affiliated crimes on campus to local law enforcement.

SPORTS GAMBLING IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Sports betting on a mobile device could become legal in South Carolina under a proposal state lawmakers are now debating, setting up a fight over regulation, revenue and the expansion of gambling.

After a roughly two-hour hearing Wednesday, a legislative subcommittee decided to continue conversations about a bill that would legalize online mobile sports betting in South Carolina.

Supporters say betting is already happening and that the state is missing out on revenue, while opponents warn it would increase addiction and other harms.

Trevor Hayes of Caesar’s Entertainment told lawmaker data from Caesars Entertainment shows legal operators are allowing people to place bets from South Carolina and the state does not profit from it.

Hayes told the panel:

“These companies started offering bets at the end of 2024 and last month Kalshi, the largest operator among them, took over $10 billion in handle for the month. 10 billion. This is happening right now in your state.”

If approved, South Carolina could join 38 other states that have legalized mobile sports betting.

Even if the proposal were to pass both the House and Senate, Gov. Henry McMaster has indicated he would not sign something into law that makes gambling like this legal.

Gov. McMaster has long said that he would not sign such a plan into law. He said this back in April:

“Once you start letting gambling into the house it will grow and by the time such a bill makes it all the way through, you’re going to have all sorts of gambling ideas.”

His office says his position on sports betting remains consistent and that there needs to be another way to bring revenue into the state.

Sen. Josh Kimbrell, a Republican from Spartanburg County who is a member of the subcommittee, argues that a regulated market would be better than illegal gambling.

“415,000 South Carolinians have accounts right now and they’re driving across the border to North Carolina or to Tennessee or a state where it’s currently legal to go place their sports bets and so what we’re saying is let’s get rid of the black market and make sure there’s not some underground bootlegger sort of operation and make it clear and regulated.”

Kimbrell said he supports the bill, while emphasizing he does not want broader gambling expansion in the state.

.Opponents, including members of Palmetto Family Alliance, told lawmakers the proposal would do more harm than good.

They argue men ages 18 to 29 are the most vulnerable to gambling harm, including higher bankruptcy risk and bad credit.

Randy Page, executive vice president of Palmetto Family Alliance, said:

“The concern that we have is the predatory nature of gambling and how it affects people and particularly looking at online sports betting and how it affects young men and the addiction just the availability of it.”

The panel expects more discussion on the bill before making a decision on the proposal.