Three things to watch for as South Carolina opens season with NC A&T

College basketball season is finally here. After a handful of games to open the new season on Monday, South Carolina will get things started with North Carolina A&T at Colonial Life Arena on Tuesday.

Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+. The Gamecocks are a 21.5-point favorite against the Aggies, according to BetMGM, to begin Lamont Paris’ fourth season in Columbia.

Here are three things to watch for before the Gamecocks tip off against the Aggies.

🏀 Attention: GamecockCentral is at the game to provide updates. Follow along on the The Insiders Forum (beginning approximately 30 minutes before tip-off). Don’t miss any of the action!

Meechie Johnson’s homecoming

When Meechie Johnson left South Carolina to go back to Ohio State, that looked to be it for his time as a Gamecock after two seasons in Columbia. But personal hardships and mental health struggles led to him redshirting with the Buckeyes after only playing in 10 games.

After last season ended, Johnson entered the transfer portal and returned to South Carolina, where he’ll play for one final season this year. Tuesday will be his first time playing at Colonial Life Arena since March 6, 2024.

Johnson should receive some of the louder cheers from the crowd when he’s introduced with the rest of the starting five before the game. He was a fan-favorite during his first stint here, and now that he’s back, there’s definitely much more added excitement about what this season can become.

The fifth-year guard scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in an exhibition game against NC State on Oct. 26. He went 3-of-9 from three-point range and had four assists in 33 minutes. Johnson averaged 13.4 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting in 63 career games at South Carolina.

Get off to a good start

Even with how bad last season went, there’s hope this season can be much different. The Gamecocks overhauled their roster in the offseason with only three players returning from last year’s team. They, in turn, added 12 new players to the roster, making it a completely different group.

For the most part, South Carolina *should* be able to get through non-conference play in relatively good shape. Its toughest games will be against Clemson, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, and Butler, all top-100 KenPom teams. Besides that, this part of the schedule is very manageable.

The same could’ve been said for last season. The Gamecocks had a similar non-conference schedule with a handful of winnable games. Then they lost to North Florida, a Quad 4 opponent, in their home opener at Colonial Life Arena, which kick-started an ugly 12-20 season.

NC A&T heads into the season as arguably one of the worst teams in college basketball, as the Aggies are ranked 353rd of 365 teams in KenPom. South Carolina should be able to handle its business and win this game without much issue. But avoiding any sort of upset and getting off to a good start with a win will be critical.

READ HERE: Predicting South Carolina’s starting lineup and all other roles for 2025-26 season

Same starting five?

When South Carolina took the floor against NC State in Greensboro, this was the starting lineup that Paris sent out: Mike Sharavjamts, Meechie Johnson, Myles Stute, Nordin Kapic, and Jordan Butler.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Gamecocks run out the same starting five for the season opener on Tuesday. Could Eli Ellis and/or Kobe Knox get a starting nod? It’s possible. Both played 25-plus minutes coming off the bench against the Wolfpack.

Regardless of what the lineup looks like, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what it will be the rest of the season. Surely, Paris will adjust his lineups depending on matchups, teams they’re facing, things along those lines. It may also simply change based on who’s playing well and who’s not.

🏀 Attention: GamecockCentral is at the game to provide updates. Follow along on the The Insiders Forum (beginning approximately 30 minutes before tip-off). Don’t miss any of the action!