Senior day, rivalry contest, ‘championship game’ all in one for USC-Mississippi State

Who: No. 14 South Carolina (21-7, 13-2 SEC) vs. No. 5 Mississippi State (26-2, 14-1 SEC)

When: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3

Where: Colonial Life Arena

Watch: ESPN2

Radio: 1320 AM in Columbia area

Projections: Mississippi State is favored by 14 points by basketball bracketologist Warren Nolan, 8.5 points by Massey Ratings.

South Carolina projected starting lineup: Junior guard Tyasha Harris, redshirt senior guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore, redshirt senior guard Doniyah Cliney, junior forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, redshirt senior forward Alexis Jennings

Mississippi State projected starting lineup: Senior guard Jordan Danberry, senior guard Jazzmun Holmes, sophomore guard Andra Espinoza-Hunter, redshirt senior forward Anriel Howard, senior center Teaira McCowan

STORYLINES

Postseason starts now: It’s technically the last game of the regular season, but Sunday’s showdown will have a tournament feel — the Gamecocks need a win to claim at least a share of the SEC title, while a Missouri win and Kentucky loss would give USC the tiebreaker. Mississippi State, meanwhile, is pursuing a second consecutive outright championship.

Carolina and MSU have built a rivalry over the past several years by playing in high-stakes games like this one, and there’s no question of motivation in coach Dawn Staley’s mind.

“It’s a championship game for us. We have to approach it that way,” Staley said. “Not as far as preparation, but as far as the amount of energy, the amount of playing after the adrenaline has worn off, that type of thing. You gotta stay pretty engaged and pretty locked in because of it, and also because at this stage in the game, the small window of opportunity to be great, it’s getting smaller and smaller and smaller for our basketball team.”

The last two times the Bulldogs and Gamecocks faced off with a titleon the line, in 2018 in the SEC tournament and in 2017 in the national championship, South Carolina came out ahead. That’s something senior guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore takes an obvious pride in.

“I think it’s a fun matchup. We get to see each other all the time, every single year, so that’s good, and then we always seem to come out when it really matters with the win,” Cuevas-Moore said.

Shutting down Big T: Mississippi State senior center Teaira McCowan is a likely All-American who puts up elite numbers and averages a double-double. Keeping her in check is the heart of South Carolina’s gameplan.

“The bottom line is McCowan’s the key. McCowan’s gotta be the one ... you gotta pick on her from an offensive standpoint, and then you can’t allow her to do the things she likes to do, rebound the basketball and turn over that left shoulder,” Staley said.

Actually doing that, however, is a talk task — she went for 26 points and 24 rebounds the first time USC and MSU played.

“The games that they’ve lost, people have slowed her down. You gotta be willing to stick your face in there and guard her with her physicality. If you don’t, she’s gonna run all over you, and that decreases your chances of winning,” Staley said. “We gotta do a much better, much, much, much better job with McCowan.”

Senior night: While Sunday’s game will have plenty of on-court intensity and implications, it will also mark the final game in Colonial Life Arena for the Gamecocks’ seniors.

For Cuevas-Moore and senior guard Doniyah Cliney, who have been with the program for five years, it will mark an emotional end to an impressive run of success — not that the pregame ceremonies will distract them from the game.

“Of course you’re gonna think about the moments we’ve had here, we’ve been here five years, so it’s special, but at the same time, we have our goals ahead of us and we know what we want to do,” Cliney said.

Greg Hadley

The State

Covering University of South Carolina football, women’s basketball and baseball for GoGamecocks and The State, along with Columbia city council and other news.