South Carolina and Vanderbilt both posted damaging losses within the last week, but each still enters Saturday night's game at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., with a lot on the line.
The Gamecocks' Southeastern Conference title hopes took a hit after Wednesday's 83-76 home loss to Arkansas. No. 21 South Carolina (20-6, 10-3 SEC) is in great shape for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2004, but it dropped a game behind Kentucky and Florida with five to play.
Vanderbilt (13-13, 6-7) entered last weekend hoping to keep its faint NCAA Tournament chances alive, thanks to a few nice wins against the country's sixth-toughest RPI schedule.