South Carolina basketball analytics update ahead of in-state matchups

South Carolina basketball has started the 2025-2026 season with a 6-3 record. The Gamecocks’ three defeats have come in their only three games against power conference opponents. Conversely, USC is 6-0 against lower-level foes. Over the last week, Lamont Paris’ team played just once, soundly beating an overmatched Stetson Hatters team.

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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The 2025-2026 season is just past the quarter-of-the-way mark. The schedule will only get tougher, though, as South Carolina has games against the rival Clemson Tigers and 18 SEC opponents coming up over the next three months.

The analytics picture is becoming clearer, and the gurus are good at what they do. Let’s take a look at Carolina’s metrics through the team’s first nine games, as of December 12th.

According to KenPom, South Carolina’s overall spot in the rankings is trending upward but only slightly. This week, the Gamecocks moved up three spots to No. 86 nationally. That comes with improved metrics on both offense and defense. Pomeroy now lists Carolina as the country’s No. 85 offensive team (+5) and No. 91 defensive team (+7).

South Carolina basketball also moved up in Evan Miyakawa’s EvanMiya ratings. Now 95th nationally, the Gamecocks improved seven spots from this time a week ago. Miyakawa slots in USC as the No. 101 team on offense (-4) and No. 109 team on defense (+4) in his national rankings. Lamont Paris’ roster is 86th in the land, according to Miyakawa, and Mike Sharavjamts (No. 29) and Meechie Johnson (No. 81) crack the SEC top 100.

The T-Rank from Bart Torvik shifted South Carolina basketball up after two weeks of falling. Now ranked No. 93 overall, the Gamecocks also hold an offensive metric ranking of 104th (+1) and a defensive metric ranking of 99th (no change). USC still has a Wins Above Bubble (WAB) rating in negative territory. That is significant, as just two at-large teams made the NCAA Tournament last year with a negative WAB, while all but eight positive WAB teams went dancing.

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. However, KenPom places the Gamecocks 15th on offense (ahead of Mississippi State) and 14th on defense (ahead of Oklahoma and Missouri); Torvik shares the exact same defensive standing in the SEC for South Carolina.

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The Gamecocks will play twice in the next week. Both of those games will come against in-state opponents.

On Saturday, December 13th, Colonial Life Arena will play host to a matchup between South Carolina and The Citadel. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The contest will not be on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+.

The Gamecocks hold a 23-1 all-time record in this matchup. The Citadel does not have a win against Division-I competition this season.

Then, on Tuesday, December 16th, the annual rivalry between South Carolina and Clemson will take place. The Gamecocks will travel to the Upstate for a 7:00 p.m. showdown at Littlejohn Coliseum.

USC leads the all-time series and won last year’s matchup, 91-88.

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