How to watch, what to watch for as No. 1 Gamecocks host LSU
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (25-1, 12-0 SEC) vs. LSU (18-6, 8-4 SEC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 1320 AM/107.5 FM in Columbia area
South Carolina projected starters: G Tyasha Harris, G Zia Cooke, G Brea Beal, F Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, F/C Aliyah Boston
South Carolina’s last game: 95-54 win over Vanderbilt
LSU projected starters: G Khayla Pointer, G Jaelyn Richard-Harris, G Jailin Cherry, F Awa Trasi, C Faustine Aifuwa
LSU last game: 65-60 loss at Auburn
Last meeting: South Carolina won, 76-53, on the road
Warren Nolan’s R1 projection: South Carolina 79, LSU 54
What to watch for
Keeping fresh
As the regular season enters its final stages, the quality and quantity of basketball South Carolina’s star freshmen have played is reaching new levels, coach Dawn Staley said.
And with that comes the risk of the infamous “freshman wall” — mental and physical fatigue as young players stretch themselves further than ever before. To combat that, Staley said she and her staff have made a concerted effort to emphasize rest and run practices no longer than necessary.
“We’ve only been going 75 minutes. Once we get warmed up, we’ve gone 75 minutes to an hour, and I think that keeps everybody fresh,” Staley said. “Once we’re able to get in what we need to get in and they are aware of the the details that’s needed to win a basketball game, you know when to cut it. If a drill is 12 minutes and they got it in seven, let’s finish up, let’s wrap it up, and they’ve done a good job at just locking in.”
At the same time, the intensity of practices has continued at a high level — in the portion viewed by media before Thursday’s game against LSU, the Gamecocks battled their male practice players every possession in a halfcourt drill that got spirited.
“It was great when you’re able to get both. Because the fun part of it was because the guys got pretty competitive,” Staley said. “The intensity side of it was, they acutally beat us a couple of times in that drill, and they made it a rubber match, and at the end all of our players started rooting for each other and then ‘Mad Kiki’ came out and ‘Mad Kiki’ delivered.”
Dangerous Tigers
LSU has bounced back from a down season to consistently sit on the very edge of the top 25 rankings. The Tigers are in prime position to reach the NCAA tournament, but they lost start player Ayana Mitchell to a knee injury two weeks ago. Since then, they took down No. 25 Tennessee at home, but lost to one of the SEC’s worst teams, Auburn, on the road.
The Tigers rank in the top 60 nationally and fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 58.5 points per game and 39.1% shooting from the field.
“They’re super athletic. They can play a lot of different ways defensively,” Staley said. “They work primarily zone, matchup zone, but they’re mixing in a lot of man, and they’re getting under you skin and make you play faster than you want to play.”
Defensive roll
LSU’s ability to disrupt is something the Gamecocks have excelled at themselves all year — according to Her Hoop Stats, USC forces turnovers on 19% of its opponents’ possessions and holds them to 55.6 points per game.
And Staley’s squad has taken that to another level as of late; in the past seven games, opponents are averaging just 49.6 points per game. Without Mitchell, LSU will have to rely on its veteran backcourt, with three upperclassmen guards, and 6-foot-5 center Faustine Aifuwa, a player Staley said demands “at least a man and a half just to watch out.”
But South Carolina’s defensive intensity has been a major key to the team’s success all year.
“If you can get a team to commit on defense, you can get them to commit to anything you want them to do,” Staley said.
