South Carolina punctuated an up-and-down season on Wednesday night with another surprising victory, this one coming in dramatic fashion at the buzzer as Jermaine Couisnard banked in a 3-pointer as time ticked off in regulation to lift the Gamecocks to an 81-78 win over No. 10 Kentucky. Wednesday night's win was the Gamecocks' second victory this season against a top-10 opponent.
Kentucky led 33-25 at halftime but had no answer in the second half for Couisnard. South Carolina's sophomore guard scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half. The Wildcats fell to 12-4 (3-1 SEC) as it watched a 14-point lead fade away in the second half to a Gamecocks team (9-7, 1-2) that entered on a three-game losing streak.
The loss on Wednesday night is Kentucky's third to an unranked opponent this season. The Wildcats have also lost to Utah (No. 109 in KenPom) and Evansville (No. 248). Immanuel Quickley led the Wildcats with 18 points off the bench in the loss.
Kentucky will look to rebound as it returns to action Saturday at Arkansas, while South Carolina goes on the road to face Texas A&M on Saturday as well.