South Carolina ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday night, and it came in the form of a red-hot Florida squad that didn’t wait long to take control. In front of a packed "White Out" crowd of 12,686 at Colonial Life Arena, the Gamecocks struggled from the jump and never found their footing, falling hard to No. 19 Florida, 95-48.
The Gators came out firing, putting up 48 points in the first half alone-matching South Carolina’s entire game total. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks couldn’t buy a bucket early on, missing six of their first seven shots and falling into a hole they were never able to climb out of.
This wasn’t just a bad night-it was a full-on unraveling. South Carolina shot just 26% from the field and went ice cold from beyond the arc, hitting only 3 of 20 attempts. That kind of shooting performance makes it nearly impossible to stay competitive, especially against a Florida team that brought intensity on both ends of the floor.
Eli Ellis provided a spark off the bench, leading the Gamecocks with 13 points in 26 minutes. Meechie Johnson added 10, all coming in the second half when the game was already well out of reach. But beyond those two, South Carolina couldn’t generate consistent offense, and their defense struggled to contain Florida’s balanced attack.
This marks the Gamecocks’ fifth loss in their last six games-and their second straight conference defeat by 20+ points. It’s a tough stretch for a team that had shown flashes earlier in the season but now finds itself searching for answers midway through SEC play.
There’s little time to dwell on this one. South Carolina gets a chance to regroup quickly with LSU coming to town on Saturday.
The Gamecocks already beat the Tigers on the road earlier this month, 78-68, so there’s a blueprint for success. But if they want to get back on track, they’ll need to rediscover their rhythm-and fast.