Is South Carolina the No. 1 team in the country? ‘This is a team that can win it’
While South Carolina women’s basketball was busy holding off pesky No. 21 Arkansas for a win Thursday night, led by 19 points and 25 rebounds from freshman Aliyah Boston, something big involving the Gamecocks was brewing to the north.
No. 1 Connecticut, winner of 98 in a row at home and 12 in a row to start the season, was upset at home by No. 6 Baylor by a solid margin, 74-58.
As a result, there should be a new No. 1 team in the nation when the next Associated Press poll drops Monday. Who exactly that will be, however, isn’t 100% cut and dry.
In last week’s poll, UConn pulled in 19 of 30 first-place votes. No. 2 Oregon had seven, No. 3 Oregon State had three and No. 4 South Carolina had one. Oregon began the year in the top spot, before getting upset by Louisville, and No. 5 Stanford also spent time at No. 1 before losing to Texas.
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors was full of praise for the Gamecocks after witnessing firsthand what they could do.
“South Carolina — really, really good. And I told (coach Dawn Staley), it’s the best team that I’ve seen her have, I think, even when you add the national championship team. This is a team that can win it,” Neighbors said.
Staley, for her part, echoed her comments a week after USC defeated No. 13 Kentucky about not “drinking the Kool-Aid” about how good her team was. The Gamecocks let the Razorbacks rally in the fourth quarter and get within nine points after leading by 22, and Staley wants to see a more complete performance.
“We’ve got a good team, but we’re not there yet where we’re able to put teams away,” Staley said. “And if you are fortunate enough to build a big lead, you should be able to finish them off, but it’s hard against a team like Arkansas, especially if you don’t stay locked in. They got transition 3s at the end the fourth quarter that got them back in the game and made it interesting.”
That being said, no team’s perfect at this point in the year. But someone has to be No. 1. Here’s a breakdown of the four main contenders and their resumes.
No. 2 Oregon
Record: 12-1, 2-0 Pac 12
Key wins: Away vs. Syracuse, Home vs. Colorado
Key losses: Home vs. Louisville
RPI: 12
Stength of schedule: 36
Why it should be them: The Ducks entered the season as the national title favorites, led by preseason national player of the year Sabrina Ionescu. They have the nation’s top offense at 89.3 points per game, and their only loss came to a top-10 opponent, Louisville.
Why it shouldn’t: The Pac 12 is a tough league, but the Ducks haven’t gotten into the meat of conference play, and their nonconference schedule was pretty weak outside of Louisville, ranking 65th in the country, per Warren Nolan.
No. 3 Oregon State
Record: 14-0, 2-0 Pac 12
Key wins: Home vs. DePaul, Missouri State and Colorado Away vs. Miami
Key losses: None
RPI: 6
SOS: 23
Why it should be them: One of only two remaining undefeated teams in the country, Oregon State doesn’t have any top-10 wins, but the Beavers have taken down some solid Quadrant 1 opponents and have a better nonconference strength of schedule than Oregon.
Why it shouldn’t: In a season that’s featured a number of high-level nonconference games, the Beavers don’t have any marquee wins. They haven’t lost, but they weren’t supposed to.
No. 4 South Carolina
Record: 14-1, 3-0 SEC
Key wins: Neutral vs. Baylor, Home vs. South Dakota, Kentucky and Arkansas, Away vs. Maryland
Key losses: Neutral vs. Indiana
RPI: 4
SOS: 10
Why it should be them: The Gamecocks are tied for the most Quad 1 wins in the country and have taken down five ranked opponents. Their offense and defense are both top-10 in the country in efficiency, according to Her Hoop Stats.
Why it shouldn’t: That neutral floor loss to Indiana is the worst of the top four contenders. The Hoosiers are very good, at No. 12 in the latest poll, but they aren’t top 10 (yet).
No. 6 Baylor
Record: 12-1, 1-0 Big 12
Key wins: Away vs. UConn, Neutral vs. Indiana
Key losses: Neutral vs. South Carolina
RPI: 21
SOS: 67
Why it should be them: The Lady Bears have only lost once this year, to South Carolina, and they did so without All-American forward Lauren Cox, who was out with injury. They also have claimed the best win of the contenders, knocking off UConn on its home floor.
Why it shouldn’t: Cox or no Cox, Baylor still lost to South Carolina, so leapfrogging the Gamecocks might be odd. Also, BU’s nonconference schedule quickly drops off after UConn, USC and Indiana.
South Carolina vs Arkansas box score
ARKANSAS (13-3)—Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Daniels 4-10 0-0 9, Dungee 4-18 4-4 14, Ramirez 9-19 0-0 20, Tolefree 6-16 5-5 22, Barnum 2-4 0-1 5, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Doumbia 3-3 1-2 8, Gaulden 1-6 0-0 2, Totals 30-79 10-12 82
SOUTH CAROLINA (15-1)—Boston 7-14 5-6 19, Herbert Harrigan 4-13 3-4 13, Beal 2-6 0-1 4, Cooke 7-23 3-4 21, Harris 5-10 2-2 13, Amihere 2-3 0-0 4, Saxton 2-2 0-0 4, Grissett 2-2 4-4 8, Henderson 2-6 0-0 5, Totals 33-79 17-21 91
Halftime: South Carolina 44-30. 3-Point Goals—Arkansas 12-30 (Thomas 0-1, Daniels 1-2, Dungee 2-6, Ramirez 2-7, Tolefree 5-10, Barnum 1-2, Doumbia 1-1, Gaulden 0-1), South Carolina 8-17 (Herbert Harrigan 2-2, Beal 0-1, Cooke 4-9, Harris 1-2, Henderson 1-3). Assists—Arkansas 13 (Gaulden 7), South Carolina 14 (Harris 7). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Arkansas 33 (Doumbia 2-6), South Carolina 63 (Beal 6-12). Total Fouls—Arkansas 12, South Carolina 12. Technical Fouls—None. A—10,234.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 8:58 AM.
