1970–71 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 1970–71 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 1970–71 men's college basketball season. South Carolina won the ACC tournament championship, defeating North Carolina in the championship game 52–51.[1] This was the last season South Carolina ever played in the ACC. The success South Carolina achieved on the court brought resentment and anger from fellow ACC schools, especially those on "Tobacco Road," as the conference members of the state of North Carolina were known. The hostility of the road crowds, the unfriendly behavior of coaches and athletic directors in the conference, and the discrepancies in eligibility standards led head coach Frank McGuire to support South Carolina becoming an Independent before the 1971–72 season.[2] Despite South Carolina leaving the ACC in 1971, (as of 2018) they still remain the only school in the state of South Carolina to win an ACC tournament championship, even though Clemson, still remains in the ACC.[3]

1970–71 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball
ACC Tournament champion
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 6
Record23–6 (10–4 ACC)
Head coach
Home arenaCarolina Coliseum
Seasons
1970–71 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 13 North Carolina 11 3   .786 26 6   .813
No. 6 South Carolina 10 4   .714 23 6   .793
Duke 9 5   .643 20 10   .667
Wake Forest 7 7   .500 16 10   .615
Virginia 6 8   .429 15 11   .577
NC State 5 9   .357 13 14   .481
Maryland 5 9   .357 14 12   .538
Clemson 3 11   .214 9 17   .346
1971 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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Name Position Height Year Stats
John Roche Guard 6–3 Senior 21.6 Pts, 2.3 Reb
Tom Owens Center 6–10 Senior 15.0 Pts, 12.9 Reb
Tom Riker Forward 6–10 Junior 14.0 Pts, 8.0 Reb
Kevin Joyce Guard 6–2 Sophomore 12.1 Pts, 4.8 Reb
Rick Aydlett Forward 6–7 Junior 7.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb
Bob Carver Guard 6–2 Junior 7.2 Pts, 2.0 Reb
John Ribock Forward 6–8 Senior 1.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb
Danny Traylor Center 7–0 Sophomore 1.8 Pts, 2.1 Reb
Casey Manning Guard 6–3 Sophomore 0.7 Pts, 0.7 Reb
Jimmy Powell Guard 5–11 Junior 0.6 Pts, 0.0 Reb
Dennis Powell Center 6–0 Junior 0.2 Pts, 0.2 Reb

[4]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
December 3*
No. 2 Auburn W 86–69  1-0
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
December 5*
No. 2 at No. 5 Notre Dame W 85–82  2-0
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center 
South Bend, IN
December 12
No. 2 Duke W 98-78  3-0
(1-0)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
December 16
No. 2 Maryland W 96–70  4-0
(2-0)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
December 19*
No. 2 at Virginia Tech W 78–76  5-0
Cassell Coliseum 
Blacksburg, VA
December 26*
No. 2 vs. Cornell W 83–60  6-0
 
 
December 28*
No. 2 vs. Providence W 102–86  7-0
 
 
December 30*
No. 2 vs. No. 5 Western Kentucky W 86–84  8-0
 
 
January 2
No. 2 Clemson W 81–53  9-0
(3-0)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
January 4
No. 2 at North Carolina L 64–79  9-1
(3-1)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, NC
January 6*
No. 2 Temple W 84–71  10-1
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
January 9
No. 2 at Maryland L 30–31  10-2
(3-2)
Cole Fieldhouse 
College Park, MD
January 11
No. 2 at Virginia L 49–50  10-3
(3-3)
University Hall 
Charlottesville, VA
January 30
No. 10 No. 15 Virginia W 92–70  11-3
(4-3)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 1
No. 10 at Duke L 71–82  11-4
(4-4)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
February 4*
No. 7 at Furman W 118–83  12-4
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 6
No. 7 at Clemson W 47–44  13-4
(5-4)
Littlejohn Coliseum 
Clemson, SC
February 10*
No. 9 vs. Davidson W 70–62  14-4
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, NC
February 17
No. 7 North Carolina State W 79–63  15-4
(6-4)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 20
No. 7 No. 8 North Carolina W 72–66  16-4
(7-4)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 22*
No. 7 Houston W 88–71  17-4
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 24
No. 7 Wake Forrest W 84–64  18-4
(8-4)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
February 27
No. 7 at NC State W 82–69  19-4
(9-4)
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
March 6
No. 6 Wake Forrest W 88–73  20-4
(10-4)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, SC
March 11*
No. 6 vs. Maryland
ACC tournament
W 71–63  21-4
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
March 12*
No. 6 vs. NC State
ACC tournament
W 69–56  22-4
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
March 13*
No. 6 vs. No. 13 North Carolina
ACC tournament
W 52-51  23-4
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
March 18*
No. 6 vs. No. 3 Penn
NCAA tournament
L 64-79  23-5
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
March 20*
No. 6 vs. No. 9 Fordham
NCAA tournament • Third Place Game
L 90-100  23-6
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[5]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP22222226111071077666
Coaches22222226897997676

[6]

Gamecocks drafted into the NBA

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Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
1971 1 14 John Roche Phoenix Suns
1971 4 58 Tom Owens Houston Rockets

[7]

References

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  1. ^ "5 greates wins in South Carolina history". thestate.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "South Carolina leaving the ACC dumbest move in history". thebiglead.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "ACC Champions Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "1970-71 South Carolina Gamecock basketball roster". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "1970-71 South Carolina Gamecock basketball schedule". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "1970-71 polls". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.