No. 1 South Carolina returns home vs. Alabama in SEC play. How to watch, what to know
No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball (20-1, 8-1 SEC) is looking to build upon its eight-game winning streak in SEC play when Alabama comes to Colonial Life Arena on Thursday.
The Crimson Tide (11-9, 2-7 SEC) has earned its two conference wins over Auburn, defeating the Tigers in both of this season’s meetings. Alabama hasn’t gotten a victory over the Gamecocks since 2008, with Dawn Staley tallying a 19-0 record against the Tide.
Alabama made it to the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament in its first appearance since 1999, and eighth-year head coach Kristy Curry has coached the Crimson Tide to close contests in a three-point loss to Mississippi State and a four-point loss at then-No. 15 Georgia this season.
Here’s what to watch for in Thursday’s game.
South Carolina’s turnover trouble revisited
Following an eight-day break in game action last month, the Gamecocks produced dominant wins over Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. They limited turnovers in those games, which had been a problem Staley mentioned at multiple points throughout the season.
Though ball-security troubles were mostly limited against the Commodores and Rebels, the turnover bug popped up once again in South Carolina’s latest win at Florida. The Gamecocks committed 21 turnovers against the Gators after totaling 11 against Vanderbilt and nine against Ole Miss.
Staley said in a press conference Wednesday the ball-security problems are not an individual issue when they occur as frequently as they do for South Carolina, and it all comes down to making adjustments to improve.
“Hard lessons,” Staley said. “It’s hard to watch, especially when it’s just routine stuff. It’s bobbling the ball dribbling with your left hand down the floor, bobbling the ball with your right hand. It’s all of the routine things that you do in basketball, so it’s hard to fix. It’s going to have be on the players.”
Crimson Tide strong from 3-point range despite SEC struggles
Sitting at No. 12 in SEC standings heading into Thursday, Alabama has had a tough season in conference play.
Despite losses, the Crimson Tide kept it close in games against formidable opponents such as Mississippi State and Georgia. Much of their offensive success comes behind consistent efforts from 3-point range.
Alabama has scored the SEC’s third-highest number of 3-point shots, ranked behind Arkansas and Missouri. The Crimson Tide has made 152 shots from behind the arc, making 32.9% of its attempts (fifth in the conference).
South Carolina was able to stymie Arkansas when it traveled to Fayetteville on Jan. 16. The Razorbacks made just seven of their 29 shots from 3-point range.
In its lone loss of the 2021-22 season, USC saw Mizzou connect on 7-of-15 shots from behind the arc. The Gamecocks allowed the same clip from Stanford in December, though they defeated the Cardinal.
Alabama senior guard Brittany Davis leads the Crimson Tide in scoring (15.6 per game) and rebounding (7.3 per game), with both marks good for 11th in the conference. Junior Mississippi State transfer guard JaMya Mingo-Young is a threat on the defensive end and is ranked sixth in the SEC with 43 steals this season.
Mississippi State game tickets to be honored for next three games, Gamecocks play on SEC Network
When COVID-19 issues forced Ole Miss to postpone its Jan. 2 meeting with South Carolina, the Gamecocks swiftly replaced the matchup with Mississippi State.
South Carolina made up the Ole Miss game in place of UConn last week and left the Feb. 6 date without a game, and USC is honoring tickets to the Feb. 6 game for any of its last three home games, starting with this week against Alabama.
The Feb. 6 ticket can be exchanged for a general admission seat to Thursday’s game against Alabama, the Feb. 17 game against Auburn or the Feb. 20 home finale against Tennessee. The school said fans can exchange their tickets through email, in person or at the Colonial Life Arena box office on any of the three remaining game days.
South Carolina’s game against Alabama is available to watch on TV through SEC Network, a change from the previously scheduled SEC Network Plus stream.
How to watch South Carolina vs. Alabama
Who: No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (20-1, 8-1 SEC) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-9, 2-7 SEC)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
