Originally scheduled to play at Northwestern on November 28 in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Classic, South Carolina will now play with Liberty. The event in Kansas City, Mo. announced that Flames will replace Wildcats and play Gamecocks on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Tulsa and TCU are also participating in the event and the winners and losers of these Saturday contests will be played on Sunday, November 29. Match times have not yet been announced for the two days.
South Carolina vs. Liberty will be the first regular season showdown for Gamecocks. On Wednesday, November 25, they will host the Coker at Colonial Life Arena for an exhibition.
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Welcome to #HOFClassic, @LibertyMBB_! pic.twitter.com/o82PoUjmrb
– Hall of Fame Classic (@HOFClassic) November 20, 2020
South Carolina non-conference calendar
Wednesday, November 25 – Coker (exhibition)
Saturday, November 28 – Liberty (Kansas City)
Sun, November 29 – TCU / Tulsa (Kansas City)
Saturday, December 5 – Houston No. 17
Thursday, December 10 – Wofford
Monday, December 14 – in George Washington
Saturday, December 19 – Clemson
Wednesday, December 23 – State of SC
Saturday, January 2 – Florida A&M
* homemade games in bold
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Last week, before the news about Northwestern, Gamecocks coach Frank Martin offered his thoughts on the list of eight games outside the conference.
“Our schedule is very difficult,” said Martin. “We went back to important consecutive games in Kansas City, came home for three or four days and came back and went to Houston. They have the best team they’ve had since the early 1980s. So we come home and play Wofford, go to George Washington, then Clemson at home. I don’t know when I’ll be able to take a deep breath, but that’s okay. I prefer to play these difficult games than games that have no special effect.
“The guys in Kansas City (for the Hall of Fame Classic) immediately contacted us, changed the date and it kind of fit our schedule. Their tests will be quite consistent and the four teams agreed that we would all be part of the same thing. It was a very smooth transition from that point of view.
“Since these dates worked, for us, it was just a matter of me wanting to play at home, on the road and on a neutral court, which we do every year in our non-conference. I never bought bubble things. I didn’t know how they would make it work, because each league has different test mandates. I don’t think (compiling a schedule) was as crazy for us as some people made it seem. “