First look: SEC schedule for South Carolina men’s basketball revealed
The Southeastern Conference released its men’s basketball league schedule for the 2020-21 season on Friday. South Carolina will open the conference season Dec. 29 at Kentucky.
The Gamecocks will play 18 SEC games, including nine in Columbia. Game times and TV/streaming details will be released at a later date.
It’s the eighth time in 10 years that USC has opened its conference season on the road. Frank Martin’s team will host its first conference game Jan. 6, when it welcomes Texas A&M to Colonial Life Arena.
USC basketball’s 2020-21 SEC schedule
- Tues., Dec. 29: South Carolina at Kentucky
- Wed., Jan. 6: Texas A&M at South Carolina
- Sat., Jan. 9: South Carolina at Ole Miss
- Tues., Jan. 12: Tennessee at South Carolina
- Sat., Jan. 16: South Carolina at LSU
- Tues., Jan. 19: South Carolina at Missouri
- Sat., Jan. 23: Auburn at South Carolina
- Wed., Jan. 27: Georgia at South Carolina
- Sat., Jan. 30: South Carolina at Vanderbilt
- Wed., Feb. 3: South Carolina at Florida
- Sat., Feb. 6: Mississippi State at South Carolina
- Tues., Feb. 9: Alabama at South Carolina
- Sat., Feb. 13: Ole Miss at South Carolina
- Tues., Feb. 16: South Carolina at Tennessee
- Sat., Feb. 20: Missouri at South Carolina
- Wed., Feb. 24: South Carolina at Mississippi State
- Sat., Feb. 27: South Carolina at Georgia
- Tues., March 2: Arkansas at South Carolina
- March 10-14: SEC Tournament in Nashville
When will full Gamecocks schedule be revealed?
USC has not yet released a non-conference schedule. Martin told radio host Teddy Heffner this week that the Gamecocks could release a full schedule soon, likely with a “TBA” for the Nov. 25 opener.
“We had a game in place for our opener and that team backed out, and we’ve been trying to find a game for the opener on the 25th,” Martin said. “So we’re going to release it with a ‘TBA.’
“We’re in negotiation with a couple teams ... We’ve got (an in-state) school and of out-of-state school, and then there’s a third school also from out of state that really wants to play. But out of the three teams, I’m not going to engage them in conversation until I’m through with the other two first.”
The Gamecocks had previously announced they would play two games in Kansas City for the 2020 Hall of Fame Classic. USC will face Northwestern on Nov. 28 and either TCU or Tulsa on Nov. 29. Wofford announced a Dec. 10 game at USC.
The non-conference schedule also includes a Dec. 19 home contest against rival Clemson. That game could help make up for the loss of the Clemson-USC football game, which will not be played this fall for the first time in 111 years.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA pushed the opening date of the men’s and women’s seasons from Nov. 10 to Nov. 25, while the Southeastern Conference moved up the start of conference play to Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 to allow room for makeup games in the spring.
Men’s teams can only play up to 27 regular-season games, with the NCAA reducing the maximum number of games by four. The NCAA Division I Council recommended teams schedule a minimum of four non-conference games.
Fans at Colonial Life Arena
A limited capacity of 3,500 fans will be permitted to attend basketball games at Colonial Life Arena, which holds 18,000 spectators. Much like football games at Williams-Brice Stadium, seats will be arranged into pods that are spaced at least six feet apart, and masks will be required for staff and fans.
“We’re not going to get sick because there are fans at the games,” Martin said in October. “It’s the fan-on-fan exposure … that’s where the concern’s at.
“I think we should have fans at the game. How many? I kind of leave that out there. I know this: People are allowed to go to bars. People are allowed to go to restaurants. People are allowed to do all kinds of stuff, but don’t go to a sporting event? That’s a major problem. That’s where I get confused ... But I hope we have fans. I really do.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 11:07 AM with the headline "First look: SEC schedule for South Carolina men’s basketball revealed."
