The 3-2-1: Three negatives, two positives, and one lingering question following South Carolina basketball's loss to Virginia Tech

In the 3-2-1, we typically identify three positives, two negatives, and one lingering question following South Carolina basketball’s latest win on the court. Because the Gamecocks lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge, the positives and negatives will swap.

In an overtime heartbreaker, USC fell at home to VT to move their overall record to 5-3. Let’s dive into South Carolina’s 86-83 loss to Virginia Tech.

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Three Negatives

1. Losing games by losing the glass
   
   Through eight games of the 2025-2026 season, it’s safe to say that South Carolina isn’t a great rebounding team. Against Virginia Tech, they were outrebounded for the fourth time. That’s a tough pill to swallow, considering five games have come against lower-level opponents.
   
   The Hokies owned the glass, 37-28. Amani Hansberry dominated with 14 boards, and Neoklis Avdalas pulled down eight. No one for the Gamecocks had more than six, and no post players managed more than three.
   
   Though they had just six offensive rebounds, VT managed 12 second-chance points. That was a killer for South Carolina’s chances of winning. Despite clanking 22 missed 3-pointers, the Gamecocks only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
   
2. Continual basketball IQ mishaps
   
   Head coach Lamont Paris is a good basketball mind. Most of his roster is noted for, at least in some way, having solid basketball IQs and/or a lot of experience. There were some times on Tuesday night when that didn’t look like reality.
   
   The most glaring of these came at the end of regulation. Paris declined to call a timeout with under 20 seconds to go, trusting his team to make a play. That didn’t happen, as sixth-year guard Meechie Johnson dribbled around and passed the ball with under a second remaining, leaving no time left for a shot.
   
   Other mental failings included the team’s pick-and-roll defense (or lack thereof) all night, the timing on the offense’s own top-of-the-key screens, silly and reckless shot contests on defense, and several tough shot selections on offense. Some of those bad shots were why the team, again, shot under 30% from 3-point land. That marks the fifth game in a row for that dubious distinction.
   
   For a team that needs to punch above its weight to reach its goals this year, bad decisions can’t happen.
   
3. “Going big” wasn’t the answer
   
   Coach Paris has tried out multiple starting lineups this season. Some of that has had to do with injuries, while some of it has been linked to performance.
   
   Against Virginia Tech, he went with a starting five of Meechie Johnson-Mike Sharavjamts-Kobe Knox-Nordin Kapic-Jordan Butler. It wasn’t a new look, but he might be looking for a new one after this game.
   
   The Butler and Kapic combination at the four and five just hasn’t worked much for the Gamecocks. Against the Hokies, Paris couldn’t even leave either player in the game for long, as they couldn’t hang on the boards or defensively. In 23 combined minutes, the duo combined for four points, two rebounds, zero assists, zero blocks, zero steals, and a -18 +/-. Kapic was an astonishing -17 in nine minutes.
   
   By the time the game ended, South Carolina had given up a whopping 54 points in the paint.
   
   Figuring out what to do moving forward won’t be easy. Christ Essandoko gave some good minutes off the bench, but his play has been inconsistent this year. Both Butler and Kapic have had good moments, too, as has freshman Hayden Assemian. Elijah Strong can score in spurts, but his defense isn’t great.
   
   The post rotation should continue to be a work in progress.

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Two Positives

1. Getting to the line
   
   South Carolina’s offense was up and down on Tuesday night. The thing that helped carry the Gamecocks during the “down” times was foul shooting.
   
   For the game, Lamont Paris’ crew reached the charity stripe for 28 attempts. That is the second-most USC has taken in a game this season.
   
   Carolina made 21 of those 28 tries, good for a solid 75%. Meechie Johnson missed a pair of clutch foul shots late in regulation that he would like to have back. Other than that, the Gamecocks have to be pretty happy with their execution from the line in this one.
   
2. No quit
   
   Despite the negatives from this game—and there were plenty—the Gamecocks never lay down.
   
   South Carolina trailed by nine points multiple times in the first half but battled back. They trailed by as many as eight in the second half, but they kept fighting.
   
   Kobe Knox and Mike Sharavjamts continued playing well, Meechie Johnson got into the lane late in the game, Elijah Strong made some tough shots, Eli Ellis moved the ball well and overcame some shooting struggles to contribute late, and Christ Essandoko gave his best minutes of the year.
   
   Frankly, USC put itself in a pretty good position to win in regulation. That didn’t happen, though, and the Gamecocks lost in overtime.
   
   Will Lamont Paris’ group keep playing hard until things “click?” Time will tell.

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One Lingering Question and What’s Next

What needs to change to make this work?

One of the most important parts of coaching is figuring out what needs to change to make your team the best version of itself. In college sports, there are no trades, and there are no waiver wire signings. Your team is your team.

Lamont Paris showed the ability in the 2023-2024 season to make good tweaks to his team. Can he do it again this year? The Gamecocks’ win-loss record, and subsequently, the team’s postseason chances, depend on him doing so.

As things stand, South Carolina is losing the rebounding battle too often, they are jacking a lot of threes without making a lot of them, and they are defending inconsistently. All three of those problems are game-losing issues. Figuring out how to erase those problems, at least somewhat, could be the difference between this year’s team being a re-hash of last year and the team turning into a competitive group.

What’s Next?

South Carolina will stay at home for a matchup with the Stetson Hatters on Saturday. The game will not be on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+.

The Gamecocks and Hatters have matched up one time previously. Stetson won at Colonial Life Arena in the 2019-2020 season; USC fell, 63-56, under former head coach Frank Martin.

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