COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team continues their rise in the polls after another undefeated week.
The latest Associated Press poll rankings, released Monday, finds them just outside the top 10 at number 11. That's up four spots from the week before.
USC entered the rankings last week, the first time in seven years that they'd been listed in the Top 25 poll.
The Gamecocks (21-3) now are tied for the best record in the Southeastern Conference (9-2) with Alabama. Coach Lamont Paris' team is on a seven-game winning streak and appears to be poised to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since they had their surprising run to the Final Four in 2017. It's also their first seven-game SEC winning streak since the 1996-97 season.
It's a major turnaround for a team which had 11 wins all of last season, Paris' first in Columbia. Their next game is Wednesday on the road against number 13th-ranked Auburn.
Meanwhile, budding star freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles received another accolated, being named SEC Freshman of the Week Monday. Murray-Boyles had a career high 31 points during Saturday's 75-60 win over Vanderbilt, along with seven rebounds, two assists, and a block. Against Ole Miss on February 6, he had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and two blocks.
Murray-Boyles is just the third Gamecock freshman to record a 30-point game since Carolina joined the SEC in 1991-92
Murray is a Columbia native who played for three years at AC Flora High School before spending his last year in high school at Wasatch Academy in Utah. He was considered the top prospect in the state of South Carolina during his senior year.