Here’s where South Carolina basketball is predicted to finish in the SEC this year
The South Carolina men’s basketball team was voted to finish 11th in the Southeastern Conference in a preseason media poll the SEC released Tuesday.
Frank Martin’s Gamecocks finished 12th in the conference (6-15, 4-12 SEC) last year during a season that included multiple COVID-19 stoppages. USC brings in nine new players this season as Martin and the Gamecocks try to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.
No Gamecocks were selected to the first-team or second-team preseason All-SEC teams.
A revamped Kentucky squad was voted to win the SEC title in the poll released Tuesday, with Alabama and Arkansas rounding out the top three. Despite Vanderbilt finishing 13th in the poll, Commodores guard Scotty Pippen Jr. was voted preseason SEC Player of the Year.
The 11th-place ranking is in line with where the Gamecocks have placed in the media poll in recent seasons. A year ago, the media voted South Carolina eighth in the conference, with guard A.J. Lawson earning preseason second-team honors. In 2019-20, USC placed 10th, and in 2018-19 USC placed 11th.
SEC preseason media poll
1. Kentucky
2. Alabama
3. Arkansas
4. Tennessee
5. Auburn
6. LSU
7. Florida
8. Mississippi State
9. Ole Miss
10. Missouri
11. South Carolina
12. Texas A&M
13. Vanderbilt
14. Georgia
First Team All-SEC:
Jaden Shackelford - Alabama
Jahvon Quinerly - Alabama
Colin Castleton - Florida
Sahvir Wheeler - Kentucky
Iverson Molinar - Mississippi State
Scotty Pippen Jr. - Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Davonte Davis - Arkansas
Jabari Smith - Auburn
Keion Brooks Jr. - Kentucky
Kellan Grady - Kentucky
Oscar Tshiebwe - Kentucky
Darius Days - LSU
SEC Player of the Year
Scotty Pippen Jr. - Vanderbilt
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Here’s where South Carolina basketball is predicted to finish in the SEC this year."
