Most recently, the Gamecocks won the 2017 NCAA East Regional Championship, reaching the Final Four for the first time in school history.

South Carolina achieved a measure of regional prominence during its tenure in the Southern Conference, winning regular season championships in 1927, 1933, 1934, and 1945.

During World War II, the basketball team's success was partially attributed to being assigned outstanding athletes by the U.S. Navy as part of the V-12 program.

[2] However, the Navy leaders kept the teams focus towards the war effort, and USC declined an invitation to the Southern Conference Tournament in 1944.

The hostility of the road crowds, the unfriendly behavior of coaches and athletic directors in the conference, and the discrepancies in eligibility to compete in the NCAA tournament, which at that time was delegated strictly to the winner of the ACC tournament despite that year's championship game being the only Gamecocks loss, led McGuire to support South Carolina becoming an Independent before the 1971–72 season.

The basketball program was placed on probation by the NCAA in the spring of 1987 for two years because of recruiting violations and the sale of complimentary player tickets.

For three of Felton's five seasons (1987–1989), Tubby Smith served as an assistant coach before leaving to join Rick Pitino's staff at Kentucky.

The 1997 Gamecocks posted a 15–1 record in SEC play and defeated league rival Kentucky twice, but lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Fogler retired as one of the most successful head coaches in SEC Basketball history, having won regular season conference championships at both Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

After a 10–21 campaign in 2011–12, his third straight losing season, Horn was fired on March 13, 2012, finishing his tenure at Carolina with a 60–63 overall record and a 23–45 mark in the SEC.