Analytics data update for South Carolina basketball's 4-0 start

South Carolina basketball has started the 2025-2026 season with a 4-0 record. The Gamecocks have beaten non-major conference opponents like North Carolina A&T, Southern Miss, Presbyterian, and Radford by a combined margin of 72 points. They’ve also played a more fun brand of basketball, thanks to an emphasis on outside shooting.

But what does the analytics data say about South Carolina basketball?

Throughout the season, GamecockCentral will compile the data points and rankings from three major college basketball analytics publications — Ken Pomeroy’s KenPom rankings, Evan Miyakawa’s data from EvanMiya.com, and Bart Torvik’s T-Rank numbers — and compare them to USC’s numbers from the previous week.

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Being that the schedule is just four games into the season, the sample size remains small. That doesn’t provide enough data for a solid analytical statement. South Carolina has also played four lower-level opponents, something that automatically dings their metrics. That changes soon with the Gamecocks’ upcoming opponents.

Still, let’s take a look at Carolina’s metrics through the team’s first four games, as of November 20th.

KenPom slots in South Carolina at No. 88 overall, a nine-spot improvement from this time last week. The Gamecocks are 86th nationally on offense (-4 from last week) and 92nd on defense (+17 from last week). With more wins, Pomeroy’s metrics will continue to improve as Carolina’s strength of schedule improves.

According to the numbers from Evan Miyakawa, the Gamecocks are No. 92 in the country. That marks a 16-spot one-week ascension overall. The EvanMiya offensive metrics rank South Carolina as college basketball’s No. 93 team, another 16-spot improvement. Defensively, Lamont Paris’ team sits at No. 92 in the sport, a third 16-spot rise from last week. Miyakawa ranks USC’s roster talent at 89th in the country.

Bart Torvik’s T-Rank considers Carolina to be college basketball’s No. 96 team. That is five ranking positions better than last week. Offensively, the T-Rank is lower on the Gamecocks, ranking them 101st in the country, though that is five spots of growth. Torvik likes the defense a little more, ranking them 90th nationally, representing 13 spots better than last week. At +0.18, Carolina is eighth in the SEC and 70th nationally in Wins Above Bubble rating. Almost every team that finishes with a positive WAB makes the NCAA Tournament; eight teams missed the Big Dance with a positive WAB last year, and just two made it as an at-large despite a negative WAB.

As those numbers relate to the rest of the SEC, South Carolina is still 16th out of 16 in overall ranking according to all three analytics gurus. The Gamecocks also rank last in the conference on offense according to Pomeroy, Miyakawa, and Torvik. KenPom considers USC better than Oklahoma defensively. EvanMiya agrees and has Texas A&M below the Gamecocks on defense, too. For Torvik, South Carolina is ahead of LSU on defense.

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The next couple of weeks will go a long way in shaping South Carolina’s analytic standing. The Gamecocks will play against three consensus top 100 teams by December 2nd. Then, the annual rivalry game against Clemson will take place later in the non-con schedule.

Next up, though, will be a date with the Butler Bulldogs. The two teams will meet in the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Friday, November 21st at 2:00 p.m. CBS Sports Network will broadcast the matchup. The Gamecocks will then play on Sunday, November 23rd at 5:00 p.m. against the Northwestern Wildcats. The second Greenbrier contest will also be on CBS Sports.

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