8 October 2026
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South Carolina has sold out its season-ticket allotment for the third straight year, and its schedule is packed with NCAA Tournament-caliber opponents. Only single-game tickets remain. The article contains no direct quotes, so none appear below.

Strength of schedule

  • 19 games are against teams that made last season’s NCAA Tournament: nine non-conference and ten SEC.
  • 15 games are against teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25.
  • 19 games are against teams in ESPN’s offseason bracketology (which doesn’t include tournament expansion).

SEC notes

  • Oklahoma is the only home-and-home conference opponent. The Sooners visit Columbia January 14, and South Carolina returns to Norman for a Monday night game on February 8. That second game finishes a stretch that includes at Tennessee, Kentucky at home and at Vanderbilt.
  • Byes: January 24 and February 18. The February 18 bye is conference-wide, to leave room for make-up games.

Future return games

South Carolina owes return trips for last season’s games in Columbia:

  • Penn State and Grand Canyon, both in 2027-28.
  • Oklahoma State, in a neutral-site game in Oklahoma in 2027-28.

Full schedule

Preseason

  • Sept. 27: vs. College of Charleston (exhibition, Charleston), 91-60 win
  • Oct. 23: vs. Benedict (exhibition), 7 p.m. ET, no TV

November

  • Nov. 2: vs. Maryland in Paris, noon, ESPN
  • Nov. 8: vs. North Carolina in Charlotte (Ally Tipoff), 5:30, ESPN
  • Nov. 12: at Clemson, 7:00, ESPN/ESPN2
  • Nov. 15: vs. Southern Cal in Greenville, 1:00, ABC
  • Nov. 17: vs. FGCU, 7:00, SEC Network+
  • Nov. 21: at Providence, 1:30, Peacock
  • Nov. 24: vs. UConn in Uncasville, Conn., 8:00, FS1
  • Nov. 28: vs. Tennessee State (PowHER Player Classic), 2:30, SEC Network+
  • Nov. 29: vs. Alabama A&M or NC Central, noon/2:30, SEC Network+

December

  • Dec. 3: at Duke (ACC/SEC Challenge), 7:00, ESPN
  • Dec. 6: vs. Oklahoma State, 4:00, ABC
  • Dec. 12: vs. Wofford, noon, SEC Network+
  • Dec. 16: vs. UAlbany, 7:00, SEC Network+
  • Dec. 19: vs. UCLA in Las Vegas (Players Era), 8:30, ESPN
  • Dec. 20: vs. Notre Dame in Las Vegas (Players Era), 7:30, ESPN
  • Dec. 28: vs. Gardner-Webb, 6:00, SEC Network+
  • Dec. 31: vs. Alabama, 7:00, SEC Network

January

  • Jan. 3: at Texas, 3:00, ABC
  • Jan. 7: at Mississippi State, 7:00, SEC Network
  • Jan. 10: vs. Arkansas, 4:00, SEC Network
  • Jan. 14: vs. Oklahoma, 7:30, ESPN
  • Jan. 17: at Missouri, 4:00, SEC Network
  • Jan. 21: vs. Florida, 7:00, SEC Network+
  • Jan. 28: at Tennessee, 6:30, SEC Network
  • Jan. 31: vs. Kentucky, 3:00, ESPN

February

  • Feb. 4: at Vanderbilt, 7:00, ESPN
  • Feb. 8: at Oklahoma, 7:00, ESPN2
  • Feb. 11: vs. Texas A&M, 6:00, SEC Network
  • Feb. 14: at Ole Miss, 1:00, ESPNU
  • Feb. 21: vs. LSU, 3:00, ABC
  • Feb. 25: vs. Auburn, 7:00, SEC Network+
  • Feb. 28: at Georgia, noon, SEC Network

Postseason

  • March 3-7: SEC Tournament, Greenville, S.C.
  • March 17-22: NCAA Tournament opening rounds
  • March 26-29: Regionals in Las Vegas and Philadelphia
  • April 2-4: Final Four, Columbus, Ohio

Key takeaways

  1. The non-conference slate is demanding, with UConn, North Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame, Duke, Clemson and USC on the list.
  2. The Oklahoma return trip comes in a tough stretch, right after Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
  3. Several games carry network exposure, including ABC games against USC, Texas and LSU.
  4. The Paris opener on Nov. 2 is one of the more unusual games on the calendar.

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