South Carolina had their 4-game win streak snapped in devastating fashion on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Crimson Tide controlled the game from start to finish, and simply outpaced the Gamecocks down the stretch, shooting nearly 40% from 3, making 13 of their 33 tries. When Alabama's guards are shooting that efficiently, and they are taking that many shots, it's difficult for any team to keep up.

One of the keys I mentioned in Saturday's preview was that South Carolina had to play within their game, and not get sped up by Alabama's fast-break style. Unfortunately, from the outset, Alabama quickly got out to a solid lead that had the Gamecocks chasing an ever-diminishing horizon. Alabama rode the momentum of an emotional Senior Night early and often, led primarily by point guard Jahvon Quinerly, who scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half. The Crimson Tide had excellent guard play all around, with Keon Ellis scoring 17 points, and Jaden Shackleford leading all scorers with 21 points. For one of only 3 times this season, the Gamecocks lost despite Jermaine Couisnard or Keyshawn Bryant scoring in double digits: Couisnard scored 13 in Saturday's loss, and Erik Stevenson led South Carolina with 15 points.

The Crimson Tide out-rebounded the Gamecocks 38-30, and 13-8 on the offensive boards. Wildens Leveque was out for most of the first half, but he wasn't all that much of a presence inside even when he was in there. Erik Stevenson and Devin Carter led the team with 5 rebounds each, but you're not going to win many games if you don't get some help from your big men inside. Ultimately, South Carolina was not efficient enough on offense to overcome the holes in their defense. They did make a brief run in the second half when Alabama missed 9 shots in a row. The Gamecocks cut the lead down to just 6 points, but then Alabama bounced back and quickly led by 20+ points, and South Carolina never threatened again.

South Carolina falling to a ranked team, on the road, on their senior night is certainly not a shameful loss, but you can't help but think about the missed opportunity. The Gamecocks badly needed the Quad I win to stay relevant for an NCAA bubble opportunity. The game ultimately didn't hurt the Gamecocks' NET rating too much, as they fell two spots from 89 to 91, but the true disparity is how much ground South Carolina stood to make if they could've played well enough to win. The Gamecocks now sit at 8-8 in the SEC, with a winnable game vs. Missouri tomorrow and then a tough road trip to Auburn to end the season. The Gamecocks currently have 3 Quad I wins, thanks to Vandy moving up to #75 in the NET rankings. A Missouri win wouldn't do much for the Gamecocks, though a loss would basically bury them. A win at Auburn, who is #11 in the NET, would be massive, but that's not a game anyone could project the Gamecocks being likely to win. South Carolina is showing up in some projections for the NIT, and perhaps that would still be a nice consolation prize, especially if the Gamecocks could land the major recruiting target from their backyard in GG Jackson. For now, South Carolina will just have to take it one game at a time and keep fighting it out in the middle of the SEC standings where they are tied with Florida, LSU, and Mississippi State at 8-8, though they do have the head to head with LSU and Miss. St.