USC MBB to face Oklahoma in SEC Tournament opener. How to watch the game

From here on out, it’s win or go home.

No. 14 seed South Carolina men’s basketball is set to take on No. 11 seed Oklahoma at the SEC Tournament in Nashville. USC is playing in the final game Wednesday of four opening-round matchups at Bridgestone Arena. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m., or 25 minutes after Game 3, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Here’s everything you need to know about USC’s first-round matchup:

SEC Tournament: South Carolina vs. Oklahoma time, channel

• Who: No. 14 seed South Carolina (13-18, 4-12 SEC) vs. No. 11 seed Oklahoma (17-14, 7-11 SEC)
• When: Wednesday, March 11, 9:30 p.m., or 25 minutes after Game 3 (set to begin at 7 p.m.)
• Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
• TV: SEC Network
• Stream: ESPN.com or the ESPN App
• Radio: Gamecock Sports Network (107.5 FM in Columbia, see affiliates here)

Betting odds for USC vs. Oklahoma

Oklahoma opened as a 6.5-point favorite over USC, according to the VegasInsider consensus line that factors in multiple sportsbooks. The line hasn’t moved as of Tuesday morning. The over/under line for total points scored is set at 148.5.

How they got here

USC has had another turbulent season following a Lamont Paris-era worst 2-16 SEC record last season. The Gamecocks finished the 2025-26 regular season 13-18 and 4-14 in the SEC, 11.5 games back from first place. USC took down Ole Miss 64-61 on Saturday, with help from a game-winning 3-pointer from Meechie Johnson, to prevent the Gamecocks from finishing last in the SEC for the second year in a row.

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser looked as though he might be the first SEC coach fired this season after the Sooners lost nine of their first 10 conference games, including an 85-76 loss to the Gamecocks. Oklahoma since won six of its remaining eight games of the regular season — capped off with a triple overtime win against Texas — to make the Sooners a fringe NCAA Tournament bubble team. If Oklahoma goes on a run in Nashville, it could be dancing further than ever imagined back in February.

Quick opponent scout

Here’s a quick look at the stat leaders for Oklahoma:

• Scoring: Nijel Pack (16.1), Xzayvier Brown (15.6), Tae Davis (11.1)
• Rebounding: Mohamed Wague (6.7) Tae Davis (5.8) Derrion Reed (4.5)
• Assists: Xzayvier Brown (3.1) Nijel Pack (3.0), Tae Davis (2.3)

The Sooners get a balanced attack from their starting five of Pack, Brown, Davis, Reed and Wague, but things take a pretty steep decline once you get to the Oklahoma bench. While five players average 10 minutes off the bench to round out Moser’s 10-man rotation, none average more than seven points, three rebounds or two assists per game.

Last time vs. South Carolina ...

The Gamecocks picked up one of their four SEC wins this season against the Sooners, who were in the midst of their nine-game losing streak and have since risen to No. 46 in the KenPom rankings (USC is No. 95).

USC had an above-average shooting night, going 49% from the floor and 45% on 3-pointers. The Gamecocks shot 20 total 3-point attempts, below its 25.6 average attempts per game. A repeat performance would put USC in a good spot Wednesday, but finding that shooting consistency has been an issue that’s plagued the Gamecocks all year.

South Carolina is shooting 43.5% from the floor and 30.8% on 3-pointers this season.

“This team keeps shooting no matter what,” USC senior guard Meechie Johnson said after the Jan. 21 matchup. “We’ve got a confident group. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t shot our best this year, but this is a confident group. ... It was one of those nights. Every game is played different., so you kind of just take what the defense gives you.”

Johnson led the way with 20 points in the last game against Oklahoma, but he had plenty of scoring support behind him. All five USC starters scored in double figures, and the Gamecock bench combined for nine points. Junior forward Elijah Strong was behind Johnson with 17 points.

Brown and Davis combined for 42 points last time against the Gamecocks, but only one other Oklahoma player scored in double figures. USC out-rebounded the Sooners 36-35.

This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 8:53 AM with the headline "USC MBB to face Oklahoma in SEC Tournament opener. How to watch the game."