Early Look: South Carolina vs. Benedict (Oct. 23 Exhibition)
Game Details
- Matchup: Benedict at No. 1 South Carolina, preseason exhibition
- Date: Friday, Oct. 23
- Tip time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia
- TV/streaming: None. The exhibition will not be televised or streamed.
- Tickets: In the past, exhibitions against Division II opponents have always been free, but check with the school.
Fan note: The women’s basketball block party runs on Lincoln Street from 4 to 6:30 p.m. the same day, with the Gamecock athlete walk at 5 p.m., so you can pair the two.
Series History
Benedict is a local program from Columbia, and the last time the teams met was the 2022 exhibition. South Carolina won 123-32 at Colonial Life Arena on Oct. 31, 2022, then ranked No. 1.
What Recent Exhibitions Show
South Carolina’s last two preseason games against comparable opponents:
- Oct. 24, 2025 vs. Anderson: a 112-31 win.
- Sept. 27, 2026 vs. College of Charleston: a 91-60 win. Jordan Lee led the newcomers with 15 points, hitting all four of her threes, and Agot Makeer added 12.
This is the Gamecocks’ second and final announced exhibition, though South Carolina hasn’t said whether it will use a third. The regular season starts Nov. 2 against Maryland in Paris, at noon ET on ESPN.
Who’s Favored and By How Much
South Carolina, by an enormous margin. Based on the 2022 and 2025 results, my estimate is a win of about 80 points, with a plausible range of 65 to 95. That’s my own projection, not a published line, and exhibitions don’t have official odds.
Why the range is wide: The final margin depends on how Staley uses her bench. In exhibitions she often rotates players heavily and tests lineups, which can narrow the gap, as the 31-point margin against Charleston showed.
What to Watch
- The new guards. Jordan Lee and freshman Jerzy Robinson are in the mix for backcourt minutes, with no clear point guard hierarchy yet.
- The freshmen bigs. Staley has five first-year players, so this is a chance to see them in extended minutes.
- Brooke Quarles-Daniels’ availability. Her eligibility hearing is Oct. 20, three days before this game, and the result could affect whether she plays.
- Veteran leaders. Joyce Edwards, Chloe Kitts and Tessa Johnson will likely get limited minutes in a game like this.
Bottom Line
This is a tune-up, not a test. The final score matters less than rotations, health and who earns minutes before the trip to Paris.
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