Good morning. College basketball analyst Jon Rothstein likes what he’s seeing from the Gamecocks. Watch what he had to say about the style of program Coach Paris is building…and why playing South Carolina is “like getting a root canal without the novocaine.”

What else is mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

🏀 Grounded in who he is
🔁 Over and over again
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

Gamecock men’s basketball didn’t upset Kentucky last night by accident. An offseason full of hard work, a hot start to the year, and endless behind-the-scenes blood, sweat, and tears went into every element this season - and this team is nowhere close to being done yet. See how every moment from preseason, the non-conference schedule, and early league play led up to one epic Tuesday night in Columbia, South Carolina.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Grounded In Who He Is. We can’t get enough of South Carolina men’s basketball right now! 247sports’ JC Shurburtt writes that “Lamont Paris' program’s seemingly sudden rise is grounded in who he is as a coach and person and it should excite anyone who cares about the sport at Carolina.” Here’s why.

🔼 Over And Over. What’s Coach Paris focused on in the wake of South Carolina toppling No. 6 Kentucky? Doing it again and again and again.

“We were and are still focused on getting better, being better and building,” Paris said. “That’s my job is to build something that we can reproduce over and over again."

🔼 Bright Future. Two South Carolina women’s basketball signees are McDonald’s All-Americans! Joyce Edwards and Madisen McDaniel are the 19th and 20th McDonald’s All-Americans who signed with Coach Staley at South Carolina out of high school. Edwards is second all-time in scoring in South Carolina high school girls’ basketball history, while McDaniel is the No. 12 overall player in the 2024 Class.

🔼 Top 10 Battle. Gamecock women’s hoops is set to take the court tonight in a Top-10 battle on the road. No. 1 South Carolina will square off against No. 9 LSU at 8:00pm ET on ESPN. Tune in at 7:00pm EST this evening for College GameDay live from the Pete Maravich Center ahead of the clash of two perennial powerhouses in women’s college basketball. Full preview here.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Off The Bench. Gamecock women’s basketball is getting huge production from the bench this season. Do you know how many points per game are coming off the bench this year?

Got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the right answer!

📬 STICK WITH US

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📬 A LOOK AHEAD

Thursday 1/25

🏀 No. 1 Women’s Basketball @ LSU @ 8:00pm ET on ESPN

Friday 1/26 - Saturday 1/27

🏃 Track & Field @ the Razorback Invitational (Fayetteville, AK)

Friday 1/26

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Arizona @ 11:00am ET (Athens, GA) | Live Stats 

🏊 Swimming & Diving @ Georgia Tech @ 3:00pm ET (Atlanta, GA) on ACC Network Extra

Saturday 1/27

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Missouri @ 1:00pm ET on SEC Network | Tickets

🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Georgia or USF (Athens, GA) | Live Stats

🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Clemson @ 10:00am ET | Live Streaming

Sunday 1/28

🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. LSU or Louisville | Live Streaming

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Vanderbilt @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network | Tickets

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: South Carolina’s bench is averaging 35.0 points per game - including 33.6 points per game in league play and 33.0 points per game against ranked opponents.

🤙 Have a good Thursday, y’all.