Tuesday was not a good night to be a top-five men’s basketball team.
No. 5 Tennessee was the second top-team in the country to suffer a stunning loss to an unranked opponent (joining No. 3 North Carolina), dropping a 64-59 decision to South Carolina.
It was not only a stunning loss for the Volunteers, it was also a rare road win over a top-team for the Gamecocks.
Tuesday’s win was South Carolina’s first road win over a top-five team going all the way back to the 1996-97 season. That win came over No. 3 Kentucky to close out the regular season schedule.
It was the Volunteers’ fifth loss of the season. But up until Tuesday all of the previous losses had come against upper-level competition, including a three-game losing streak that saw them loss games to Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina.
All three of those teams are currently ranked in the top-10 in the country. The other loss was a 77-72 decision against a Mississippi State team that climbed as high as No. 21 in the rankings.
Not only did South Carolina score the upset, it also held Tennessee to it lowest point total of the season (59). It was also just the fourth time all season the Volunteers were held to less than 70 points in a single game.
South Carolina has now beaten two of the top teams in the SEC this season having also beaten then-No. 6 ranked Kentucky a little more than a week ago.
The Gamecocks, after winning just 11 games under head coach Lamont Paris in his first year running the team a year ago, are now 18-3 on the season and are going to start getting some national recognition with these two big upset wins in recent weeks.
The 18 wins have already matched South Carolina’s most wins in a season dating since the 2016-17 season.
