Despite a strong effort by South Carolina’s offense in the beginning of the first half, Texas A&M was ultimately able to surge forward after a program record of 12 3-pointers in the first half to take a double digit lead early on, and ultimately allow the Aggies to win 92-69.
While South Carolina leads the all-time series against Texas A&M 10-7, the Aggies have won three of the last four matchups.
The Gamecocks made nine total 3-pointers against Texas A&M, the same number of made 3-pointers against their last matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners on Jan. 20. However, it wasn’t enough and Texas A&M got the better of the Gamecocks. Similar to how last year’s matchup turned out, 3-pointers helped Texas A&M secure the victory.
In 2025, Texas A&M had been averaging seven 3-pointers per game but ended up scoring nine 3-pointers during the first half of its Feb. 1 matchup against the Gamecocks. Now-graduated Aggie guard Wade Taylor IV scored seven of the team’s 11 total 3-pointers during that game, allowing them to scrape out a 76-72 win.
This time around, graduate forward Zach Clemence stepped into Taylor's shoes, scoring a team high seven 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Rubén Dominguez scored three 3-pointers, as did senior guard Rylan Griffen. Griffen and Dominguez rank fourth and fifth in the SEC for the highest 3-point field goal percentage rate, with .446 and .443 respectively.
In total, the Aggies made seventeen 3-pointers during the game, totaling over half of their points scored.
South Carolina was able to go on numerous 5-0, 6-0 and 8-0 runs, plus a 15-2 run in the second half, but the Aggies responded to these scoring runs with timely 3-pointers.
While Texas A&M came out on top offensively, South Carolina did not disappoint when it came to free throws.
Currently, the Gamecocks lead the SEC in free throws made, with a 78% success rate as of Jan. 23. Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson shot 100% behind the line, going 10-for-10, while redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox also shot 100%, going two-for-two.
Both teams were able to find success within the paint, with the Gamecocks scoring 26 points, with seven offensive rebounds leading to 5 second-chance points. By contrast, the Aggies scored 28 points in the paint, with 13 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second-chance points.
While the Gamecocks scored 10 points off nine turnovers, the Aggies scored 15 points off 10 South Carolina turnovers. Texas A&M got several turnovers off of inbound plays thanks to a tactic known as "Bucky Ball", named after first-year head coach Bucky McMillan, which involves an aggressive full court press to generate steals.
The Aggies are ranked third in the SEC for points scored per game, with an average of 91.8 points, while South Carolina ranks fourteenth with an average of 78.3 points.
While Clemence led the Aggies in points scored with 21, Johnson led the Gamecocks with 26, and Knox followed with 18, then graduate guard Myles Stute with 11. Three Gamecock players, junior forwards Elijah Strong and Jordan Butler, and freshman guard Grant Polk, who were on the court for a combined 36 minutes, did not score a point.
Only 9 points came from South Carolina's bench, as opposed to 43 bench points for the Aggies.
The Gamecocks will play No. 16 Florida, the reigning national champions, this Wednesday. Despite recently losing to the Auburn Tigers, Florida holds a 5-2 conference record and every starter for the Gators averages more than 10 points. South Carolina will need to maintain both offensive and defensive consistency, while working to limit the Gator's offense.
