USC Gamecocks vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

WHEN: 10 p.m.

WHERE: Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas

TV: FSC

RADIO: WISW 1320 AM

RECORDS: USC 10-17, 2-12, Mississippi State 21-8, 8-6

COACHES: Dawn Staley (10-17 in first season at USC, 182-97 in nine seasons); Sharon Fanning (231-184 in 14 seasons at Mississippi State, 554-410 in 33 seasons)

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

These teams played in the next-to-last game of the regular season with MSU running away for a 58-41 victory. It was a close game until the final 10 minutes when Alexis Rack and Chanel Mokango took over. The Bulldogs outscored USC 38-22 in the second half and held the Gamecocks to 32 percent shooting during that time.

The Bulldogs probably qualify for the NCAA tournament, but a win here will almost certainly assure a bid. They have the third-best record in program history and could match the best-ever with three wins in the SEC tournament. Defense has been the key to success, as they rank second in field goal percentage defense.

The Gamecocks have faltered down the stretch and have not played a close game since defeating Alabama on Feb. 15. They lost the final three games by an average of just over 16 points a game. To pull the upset, they need a complete offensive effort and a hot-shooting night.

KEY PLAYER

Lakeisha Sutton, G, USC

Sutton was a unanimous selection for the SEC All-Freshman team and has led the Gamecocks in scoring nine times this year. In SEC play, she is the highest-scoring freshman at 13.6 points a game. Sutton sometimes waits for the offense to come to her but she needs to be aggressive from the outset.

STARTING LINEUPS

GAMECOCKS

POS. HT. NAME PPG

F 5-10 C.J. Pace 7.5

F 5-10 Courtney Newton 3.0

F 6-1 Jewel May 4.5

G 5-9 Lakeisha Sutton 11.1

G 5-4 Samone Kennedy 5.3

BULLDOGS

POS. HT. NAME PPG

F 6-5 Chanel Mokango 10.6

F 5-11 Robin Porter 8.2

G 5-7 Alexis Rack 14.7

G 5-9 Armelie Lumanu 11.1

G 5-11 Mary Kathryn Govero 7.3

BOTTOM LINE:

Unless the Gamecocks play with the intensity of the middle of the SEC season, this will be the end of the road for Dawn Staley’s first season.

— Chris Dearing