South Carolina is headed to White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, this weekend for the second-annual Greenbrier Tip-Off, where the Gamecocks will finally get their first taste of high-level non-conference competition. They open play Friday at 2 p.m. against Butler on CBS Sports Network.
Here are the biggest storylines heading into the weekend at The Greenbrier Resort:
1. A Real Test Against Legit Competition
South Carolina has rolled through its first four games, winning by an average of 18 points, but the level of competition has been relatively light. That changes this weekend.
Butler enters the event ranked No. 62 in KenPom, while Sunday’s opponent, Northwestern, is even better at No. 46. These games account for two of South Carolina’s four contests against top-100 KenPom teams before SEC play begins. They’ll also see Virginia Tech (No. 59) and Clemson (No. 27) in December.
Guard Eli Ellis knows what this stretch means.
“Oh, it’s a great test. We have a good schedule, and to be able to go to an event like Greenbrier, play against really good teams, just see what we’re made of against high-major teams, see what we need to work on,” Ellis said. “If we’re going to be able to really do a lot of things this year, I think after this weekend, we’re going to show that we belong on the stage.”
The ideal result? A clean 2-0 weekend, which would give the Gamecocks a Quad 2 win over Butler and a valuable Quad 1 win over Northwestern. But even a split wouldn’t be a disappointment.
Head coach Lamont Paris isn’t obsessing over resume metrics—at least not publicly. His focus remains on internal growth.
“Certainly, you want to win those games and then root for those teams as they go play everyone else. But it’s not a make-or-break situation by any stretch of the imagination,” Paris said.
“Once we go there, just let our hair down and let it rip against some good teams that are really well coached. … We go against some really good coaches with a variety of different styles. And so I think that all works to help prepare you for your conference.”
2. High-Scoring Shootout Incoming?
The Gamecocks’ offense has exploded out of the gates. They’ve scored 80+ points in all four games, something the program hasn’t done since 1970–71, averaging 85.5 points per contest—by far the best of the Lamont Paris era.
But Friday’s matchup could push the pace even higher.
Butler has been even more explosive, averaging 95.8 points, though much of that came against weak opponents. Their best performance came in an 85-83 loss to SMU, a top-50 KenPom team.
The Bulldogs feature four double-digit scorers, led by:
- Finley Bizjack – 15.0 ppg
- Michael Ajayi – 14.8 ppg
They’re shooting nearly 50% from the field and pulling down 46.3 rebounds per game. If South Carolina wants to keep pace, its defense and rebounding will have to be sharp.
3. Imagine This Team With Hot Three-Point Shooting…
South Carolina’s blowout win over Radford on Tuesday was impressive for an unusual reason: they dominated despite shooting just 28% from deep, and with Meechie Johnson scoring only two points.
The Gamecocks compensated in other areas:
- 48 points in the paint
- 27-of-34 on two-pointers (79.4%)
- 40 total rebounds, 33 defensive
- Held Radford to 30.8% shooting
- Forced 14 turnovers, scoring 20 points off them
That performance produced a 29-point win, their largest margin of the season.
The question now: What happens when they combine that inside dominance with an on-target night from three?
If they can pair their physicality and rebounding with hot perimeter shooting, South Carolina could be extremely difficult to stop this weekend—especially against two teams capable of matching their scoring output.
If the Gamecocks bring the same physicality and defensive control they showed Tuesday—and start connecting from beyond the arc—the Greenbrier trip might just turn into one of their biggest non-conference statements in years.
