Tennessee beat South Carolina twice last season in men’s basketball by 83 combined points.
This season isn’t last season.
The meteoric rise of the Gamecocks under second-year coach Lamont Paris reached a new high Tuesday night with a 63-59 upset of No. 5 Tennessee inside the Food City Center. It was the first road win for South Carolina over a top-five team since Eddie Fogler’s Gamecocks defeated Rick Pitino’s Kentucky Wildcats in 1997.
“What a good game,” said Paris, who just two seasons ago guided UTC to a 27-8 record and a Southern Conference championship. “Our guys just battled. Both teams played so hard, and our guys just made plays when we needed to. We got to the free-throw line and made some big free throws down the stretch.
“We secured the ball against really good pressure, and even when we did get out of sorts, we made a play here and there.”