Share on LinkedIn

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Wednesday was one of the biggest home games for South Carolina men’s basketball in the history of Colonial Life Arena.

South Carolina was defeated by Tennessee on Wednesday night with a final score of 66 to 59.

Meechie Johnson Jr. led the charge for the Gamecocks with 18 points, 5 rebounds and three assists. Two other Gamecocks scored in double figures.

Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, a four-time SEC player of the week, was the star of the game. He scored 26 points, had 3 rebounds and an assist.

Collin Murray-Boyles was the only double-double for the Gamecocks at 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“They had a good shot at winning the SEC regular-season title, but they needed to beat fourth-ranked Tennessee tonight and win their regular season game at Mississippi state,” said WIS Sports Anchor Rick Henry.

To support the team, Dawn Staley brought the women’s basketball team to the court before they headed off to Greenville.

Davis.
Murray-Boyles.
Cooper.
Johnson.
Mack. pic.twitter.com/vvXRH3zeTA
— Julia Westerman (@JuliaWesterman) March 7, 2024

Record

South Carolina’s 82-76 win against Florida on Saturday gave the Gamecocks a 24-5 overall record with two regular season games to go, a school record.

This year’s Gamecocks team has 12 regular season SEC wins, which ties the 2017 Final Four team for the most in program history.

The Gamecocks are now ranked at 17 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll after wins against Florida and Texas A&M this past week.

The Vols are ranked fourth in the country in both major polls for the second consecutive week, as announced Monday afternoon.

Tennessee is yet again the highest-ranked team in the SEC, which has five teams in the top 20 of both polls and six in the top 25 of the Coaches Poll.

SEC Star Matchup

Wednesday’s game featured two of the best players in the SEC going head-to-head.

Junior guard Meechie Johnson was named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season, the league office announced on Monday. He shares the honors this week with Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht.

Johnson is the second Gamecock to earn the National Player of the Week honor from the organization since it started in 2016. All-American Sindarius Thornwell was the last South Carolina player to win the award back in 2017.

Johnson averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in leading the No. 17 Gamecocks to a pair of wins last week.

The star guard is coming off a strong performance, with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a comeback, 82-76 win over Florida on Saturday. He scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, including a three that gave USC the lead with less than a minute remaining.

The team is 10-3 the last two seasons when Johnson scores 20 or more points.

Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht is the first Volunteer to win four SEC Player of the Week accolades in a single campaign since the award’s inception in 1984-85.

This comes after Knecht registered a career-high-tying 39 points to lead Tennessee to a 92-84 triumph over No. 11 Auburn. He tallied 25 of his points in the final 12:01 and personally outscored the Tigers during that stretch, helping flip an eight-point deficit into an eight-point victory.

Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.