Meechie Johnson named SEC Player of the Week
Okay, he’s back.
After a few weeks of struggles, South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson has won the SEC Player of the Week. It was a well-deserved honor after playing much better this past week. In addition, he also came away with the Lute Olson National Player of the Week award.
Last Wednesday against Texas A&M, Johnson dropped 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting with a trio of three-pointers. But he also made the assist that led to Zachary Davis’ go ahead layup with three seconds to play. South Carolina would win 70-68.
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Then on Saturday, Johnson had another spectacular day. Well, it wasn’t great at first as he only had four points going into halftime against Florida. But coming out of the break, he scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting to finish with 25 on the day. He was the catalyst in getting the Gamecocks an 82-76 win.
“Late in the game I just wanted to do whatever I could to help my team,” Johnson said. “Whether that was scoring, getting my teammates involved, getting stops on the other end, getting rebounds whatever I needed to do I wanted to do it to help us win.”
Looking ahead, Johnson will need to continue to bring his A-game as No. 17 South Carolina hosts No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
South Carolina continues to move up in latest AP poll ranking
As a massive week gets underway, things got off to a good start for South Carolina on Monday afternoon.
The Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4 SEC) moved up to No. 17 in this week’s AP poll.
The higher ranking comes after they beat Texas A&M on the road then overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to knock off then-No. 24 Florida. The wheels are back in motion as South Carolina has now won three straight games.
In the NET rankings, not much has changed. The Gamecocks moved up one spot to No. 47. And in KenPom, they’re ranked 43rd. But in hindsight, these rankings don’t hold much weight compared to the AP poll. And ultimately, there are bigger goals in mind than being ranked.
Looking ahead, South Carolina has a chance to lock down the SEC regular season title with two wins this week. But it won’t come easy. The Gamecocks are at home against No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday at 7 p.m. And then, they’ll travel to Starkville for the regular season finale against Mississippi State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
