Meet the Opponent: South Carolina Gives Indiana First High-Major Matchup

South Carolina tied a program record with 26 wins last season under coach Lamont Paris, but the Gamecocks suffered a costly season-opening loss and are expected to regress after losing three key players.

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris talks during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

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

• F Collin Murray-Boyles: 20.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 62.9 FG%
• G Jacobi Wright: 16 ppg, 3.7 apg, 46.7 3pt FG%
• G Zachary Davis: 8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 10.0 3pt FG%
• G Myles Stute: 4.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg 30.8 3pt FG%
• G Morris Ugusuk: 3 ppg, 1 rpg, 50 FG%
• F Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk: 1.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 28.6 FG%

South Carolina Gamecocks forward Collin Murray-Boyles (30) drives to the basket against Arkansas at Bridgestone Arena. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Key newcomers

• G Jamarii Thomas (Norfolk State transfer): 10.7 ppg, 3.3 apg, 52.9 FG%
• F Nick Pringle (Alabama transfer): 8.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 52.9 FG%
• G Cam Scott (No. 36 freshman): 4 ppg, 3 rpg, 16.7 3 pt FG%
• F Jordan Butler (Missouri transfer): 1 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 33.3 FG%

Key departures 

(2023-24 stats)

• G Meechie Johnson: 14.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 32.1 3 pt FG%
• F B.J. Mack: 13.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 32.1 3 pg FG%
• G Ta’Lon Cooper: 9.9 ppg, 4.2 apg, 45.9 3 pt FG%
• F Stephen Clark: 2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 48.9 FG%
• C Josh Gray: 3.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 54.3 FG%

2024-25 Schedule

• L, 74-71 vs. North Florida, Nov. 4, Columbia, S.C.
• W, 86-64 vs. South Carolina State, Nov. 8, Columbia, S.C.
• W, 80-54 vs. Towson, Nov. 12, Columbia, S.C.

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%.

South Carolina Gamecocks guard Jacobi Wright (1) shoots the ball against Oregon in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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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