South Carolina gets a much-needed big win for the SEC

It has been a rough couple of weeks for the SEC in terms of basketball performance. Not only did Kentucky lose two in a row in Las Vegas, they also don’t have many quality victories so far this season, and the rest of the league hasn’t looked much better.

You could make the argument that the only team in the conference that deserves to be ranked is the Auburn Tigers, even though it is likely that UK will remain somewhere in the top 25 despite their loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

Fortunately, Sunday brought some good news to a conference that had been much improved over the last few seasons.

The University of South Carolina went on the road and upset the #9 Virginia Cavaliers. Not only did the Gamecocks win the game, they pretty much controlled it throughout. USC took a 9 point lead into halftime and never looked back.The Gamecocks had four players score in double-figures and were lead by redshirt junior, Jair Bolden, who poured in 22 points. Normally Virginia can impose their scheme on just about anybody, especially at home, so credit to South Carolina for pulling off the improbable victory.

Defeating the defending champions on their home floor will definitely be viewed as a quality win for Frank Martin’s team and one of the few bright spots so far this season for the SEC.

Kentucky will travel to Columbia on January 15th to take on the Gamecocks. But first, they need to focus on getting a resume building win against a top-five Louisville Cardinals team.