South Carolina basketball analytics update following 1-1 week for Gamecocks

South Carolina basketball has started the 2025-2026 season with a 5-3 record. The Gamecocks’ three defeats have come against their only three games against power conference opponents. Conversely, USC is 5-0 against lower-level foes. Last week, on brand for this season, Lamont Paris’ team beat Charleston Southern but lost to Virginia Tech.

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 still in its early stages, so the sample size isn’t big enough to determine just what this year’s version of the Gamecocks could be. However, each time out on the floor, South Carolina’s analytics picture gets a little clearer. With a mixture of power and non-power opponents left on the out-of-conference slate, things will start to fall into place a little more once SEC play begins.

Still, the analytics gurus are good at what they do. Let’s take a look at Carolina’s metrics through the team’s first eight games, late on December 3rd.

According to KenPom, South Carolina’s overall spot in the rankings is trending downward—but only slightly. This week, the Gamecocks dropped a spot to No. 89 nationally. That comes with a sizeable dip in offensive efficiency (-16) but an uptick in the team’s defensive efficiency metrics (+9). Lamont Paris’ team is now No. 90 with the ball and No. 98 without it.

Evan Miyakawa’s EvanMiya rankings saw South Carolina fall six spots to 102nd nationally. The EvanMiya offensive metrics peg the Gamecocks as America’s No. 97 team, marking a nine-spot drop from last week. Defensively, USC is 113th, a one-spot improvement from a week ago. For the first time in several weeks, Carolina fell in Miyakawa’s roster rank metric, slipping from 89th to 92nd. In his SEC top 100, only Mike Sharavjamts (No. 35) and Meechie Johnson (No. 98) featured. Both Sharavjamts and Johnson were higher previously.

The T-Rank from Bart Torvik again dropped South Carolina basketball. Slipping one spot to No. 99, the Gamecocks saw their offensive rating tank but their defensive metrics improve. Torvik’s adjusted efficiency stats list Lamont Paris’ group as the nation’s No. 105 offense (-12) and No. 99 defense (+3). With another loss last week, USC’s Wins Above Bubble rating shifted deeper into 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. The Gamecocks also rank last in the conference on offense according to Pomeroy, Miyakawa, and Torvik. KenPom considers USC better than Oklahoma defensively, but EvanMiya and the T-Rank list Carolina 16th in the conference.

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The Gamecocks will play just once in the upcoming week. If trends remain trends, South Carolina should have some success in the contest.

On Saturday, December 6th, Colonial Life Arena will play host to a matchup between South Carolina and Stetson.

Though this represents a contest against another mid-major opponent with a losing record, there is reason for USC not to overlook this game. Back during the 2019-2020 season, the Gamecocks lost to the Hatters, 63-56, despite having a losing record and traveling to Columbia. That was the only previous meeting between the two programs.

This season’s game will be played on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The action will not air on traditional television, but fans can stream it on SEC Network+.

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