Ole Miss at South Carolina: How to watch, start time, TV channel, spread

The collective strength of SEC basketball this season has been historic.

No. 19 Ole Miss has not only survived by thrived.

The Rebels are 18-6 (7-4 SEC) following consecutive wins over No. 15 Kentucky and at rival LSU. The Rebels used a 15-2 run in the final three minutes against the Tigers to erase an 11-point deficit and avoid their first ‘bad loss’ of the season.

“We call that ‘play it to the bone’ in our program,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said afterwards. “We tell the guys at the start of the season you’re going to have to win a couple of courageous, late-game comebacks to have the kind of season you want to have.”

South Carolina (10-13, 0-10) would be another ‘bad loss.’

Tipoff on Wednesday, February 12 is 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network. The Gamecocks won 10 of their 13 non-conference games, including an overtime win over then-No. 25 Clemson. They’re capable enough.

The SEC is just a buzzsaw.

Ole Miss is a projected 5-seed in the latest NCAA Tournament bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Lunardi has 13 SEC teams in, which would be the most ever for a single conference.

Ole Miss is seeking its first berth in nearly six years and just the 10th in program history. The Rebels have been playing basketball for over 100 years.

“I have never seen anything remotely like what we’re seeing in the Southeastern Conference this year,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “This is the most powerful basketball league, top to bottom, that there has ever been.”

On3’s James Fletcher III also has 13 SEC teams in his updated bracketology, including three on the 1-seed line in Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama.

HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Perry Clark

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Analyst: Marc Dukes

SERIES HISTORY

Ole Miss and South Carolina are meeting for the 50th time. The Rebels lead the all-time series by a single game, 25-24.

The teams first played in 1960 but didn’t face each other again until South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991. The Gamecocks are 13-4 in Columbia. The Rebels hold a slight advantage in Oxford, though the Gamecocks prevailed last they met, 72-59.

GAME SPREAD

Ole Miss: -218
South Carolina: +180

Ole Miss is 8-6 against the spread as, at least, an 4.5-point favorite this season. The Rebels are 14-10-0 ATS for the year, while South Carolina is 11-12-0.

Spread: Ole Miss (-4.5)
Total: 138.5

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina is winless in the conference, but five of its losses have come by five points or less. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 90 in the NET. Ole Miss is No. 22.

Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles leads the Gamecocks with 15.4 points per game, and he’s shooting an SEC-best 58.5 percent from the floor. He’s the team leader in rebounding, too. Murray-Boyles is third in the SEC with 8.8 rebounds per game. He has six double-doubles on the season.

Lamont Paris is in his third season as USC head coach. He was SEC Coach of the Year in 2024, when South Carolina won 26 games. Paris has coached eight seasons in Division-l. He spent five at Chattanooga (2017-22) and was the 2022 SoCon Coach of the Year. The Mocs that year won 27 games and reached the NCAA Tournament.

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