South Carolina-UConn women’s basketball: Where to watch, what to watch for
Who: No. 7 South Carolina (18-3, 7-2 SEC) vs. No. 1 Connecticut (20-0, 9-0 AAC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C.
Watch: ESPN
Listen: 1320 AM 107.5 The Game
Series History: UConn is 5-0 all-time against the Gamecocks, including three consecutive wins since 2015. USC came closest last season, in a 66-55 road defeat.
South Carolina Starters: F A’ja Wilson, F Alexis Jennings, G Doniyah Cliney, G Bianca Jackson, G Tyasha Harris
UConn Starters: F Napheesa Collier, F Gabby Williams, F/G Katie Lou Samuelson, G Kia Nurse, G Crystal Dangerfield
Last Time Out: Connecticut routed Tulane, 98-45, on Saturday to move to 20-0 for the 11th time in program history and clinch the team’s 25th 20-win season. South Carolina defeated Missouri in a heated rivalry matchup on Sunday, 64-54.
Key Storyline: It’s UConn. No. 1, undefeated, powerhouse, bluest-of-bloods UConn. Beating the Huskies in any context is not quite at the level of winning a national championship, but it’s pretty close. Dawn Staley and her team surely know this, just as they surely will try to downplay the importance of this matchup.
Over the past three seasons, the Gamecocks have chipped away at the gap between them and Connecticut, losing by 25 in 2015, 12 in 2016 and 11 in 2017. Obviously, USC wants to win this matchup, but bettering the final margin from last season, especially considering all the talent the team lost, would qualify as a success.
Look at the only other team to beat Connecticut in the past three years, Mississippi State, and you’ll see that the Bulldogs didn’t outshoot the Huskies in last year’s Final Four, or particularly limit them in regulation. What they did do was grab a bunch of offensive boards (14-6 in MSU’s favor) and convert them into second-chance points while preventing UConn from doing the same (18-4).
South Carolina is averaging 13.33 offensive rebounds per game. Redshirt junior forward Alexis Jennings and star senior forward A’ja Wilson have both pulled down more than 55 offensive rebounds this year, and they have good size compared with Connecticut’s starters, none of whom stand taller than 6-foot-3, though 6-foot-6 super sub Azurá Stevens could complicate things.
Other Notes: Connecticut leads the NCAA in points per game and field goal percentage, is second in assist-to-turnover ratio, fourth in 3-point percentage, fifth in opponents’ field goal percentage, sixth in rebound margin and eighth in scoring defense. ... Six Huskies average more than 10 points per game, none average more than 20.
In her three games since returning from an ankle sprain, A’ja Wilson is averaging 22.67 points, 12 rebounds and 4.33 blocks per game. ... She also leads the SEC in points per game and blocks per game. ... Sophomore point guard Tyasha Harris leads the SEC in assists per game and is third in steals per game.
The UConn game will be a white-out for fans at Colonial Life Arena, USC announced. Against Tennessee earlier this season, the team held a black-out.
This will mark the first matchup between Staley, the current U.S. women’s national team coach, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who led the same team through the 2012 and 2016 Olympic cycles, since it was announced this past March that Staley, who served as an assistant under Auriemma, would take his place.
Greg Hadley
This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 1:35 PM with the headline "South Carolina-UConn women’s basketball: Where to watch, what to watch for."