Published Jan 21, 10:39pm ET by
Keith McCarthy - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Jan 21, 10:39pm ET
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South Carolina and Oklahoma clash in a ranked SEC matchup on Thursday. The Sooners have lost three games in a row, all against ranked teams. They will try to put an end to that at South Carolina.
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| Oklahoma Sooners | +170 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks | -195 |
South Carolina improved to 19-1 following their win over Coppin State. Their most impressive win of the week, however, came against Texas in a key top-5 matchup. They held the Longhorns off 68-65 at home, avenging their lone loss of the season from when they faced Texas on the road. The Gamecocks still have more tests ahead of them, with this trip to #16 Oklahoma followed by another top-5 clash with undefeated Vanderbilt.
Oklahoma slid into the bottom half of the SEC standings last week, now sitting at 2-3 in conference play. Their three-game losing streak has a silver lining of coming against all top-20 teams, but it's not much solace for a Sooners team preparing to face #2 South Carolina before heading on road trips to #4 Texas and #5 Vanderbilt at the start of February. Oklahoma is still in the projected tournament field, but they need to end this skid.
The Sooners will do all they can to lean on their home-court advantage in this matchup, though it's unlikely to be enough. After failing to defeat their last three ranked opponents, it's hard to imagine Oklahoma taking down South Carolina. The Gamecocks are hard to bet against with how often they win, and there's no reason to suspect that will change on Thursday. Take South Carolina to hand Oklahoma's their fourth straight defeat.
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Pick
South Carolina Gamecocks (-195)
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