Evaluating the SEC as No. 1 South Carolina opens conference play against Texas A&M
No. 1 South Carolina heads into conference play this week after a 12-0 start to the 2022-23 season.
The Gamecocks host Texas A&M on Thursday to begin the 16-game SEC schedule. South Carolina has won the conference regular season twice in the last three years and went 15-1 last year in the SEC. USC won its first SEC regular-season title in 2014 and has won at least a share of it six times since.
South Carolina’s group is filled with experienced players who have successfully made the midseason transition before. Head coach Dawn Staley said the team is used to the routine, but also noted the challenges that come with playing SEC basketball.
“It’s taxing, it’s physical, it’s mentally challenging,” Staley said. “But the core group of our team has been together and is used to this routine of starting conference play. We don’t want the result to be what it was when we started last year.”
The result Staley was referring to was USC’s loss to Missouri that opened up conference play. The visiting Gamecocks suffered a one-point loss to the Tigers before winning the remainder of the regular-season SEC games.
Each team in the conference, at this point of the year, holds a win-loss record that at least exceeds .500. Ten of the 14 teams have already won 10 games.
South Carolina will open against the Joni Taylor-led Aggies, who are struggling with injuries so far this season. Texas A&M went one week in December with just five players in practice, according to The Bryan-College Station Eagle.
“A Joni Taylor-led team, they’re always gonna play hard,” Staley said. “They’re going to play for 40 minutes. They always get their post involved no matter who she has on the roster.”
South Carolina’s sat atop The Associated Press Top 25 poll for 27 weeks running now, but a few teams in the conference are finding ways to make themselves relevant nationally as well.
SOUTH CAROLINA STILL SURGING
The Gamecocks are led by senior forward Aliyah Boston. Boston’s averaging 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game against ranked opponents. Her activity on both ends of the court has helped USC maintain its status as the nation’s top team.
Senior guard Zia Cooke is the team’s leading scorer with 14.1 points per game. She’s shooting 37.5% from 3-point range, the highest on the team among players with at least 10 attempts.
The team has had great defensive contributions from players like Brea Beal and Kamilla Cardoso as well, with the veterans making plays on that side of the ball with steals and blocked shots.
The Gamecocks have proven to be a deep team, averaging 42.8 bench points per game. South Carolina will look to carry that depth into its SEC schedule.
OTHER TOP TEAMS IN THE SEC
No. 9 LSU and No. 24 Arkansas are the only other ranked teams in the SEC.
LSU is the only other undefeated team in the conference and has jumped out to a 12-0 start. It has also received some criticism for the strength of non-conference opponents it’s played, however. The Tigers only have one win against a team from a Power Five conference, when it defeated Oregon State of the Pac-12. They went 26-6 last year in head coach Kim Mulkey’s first season with the team, but lost four of their five starters from that squad.
Still, their roster features a load of talent. The team is led by sophomore forward Angel Reese, who transferred to LSU after playing for Maryland last season. She’s averaging 24.6 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Flau’je Johnson is having a solid season of her own with a 13.2 point-per-game average. Fifth-year guard Alexis Morris — the lone starter returning from last year’s 26-6 Tigers — leads the team with 4.3 assists per game.
They also have strong perimeter shooting, with a 36.2% rate from 3-point range.
The Razorbacks started the season 13-0, but have lost their last two games. The team does have two wins against teams ranked at the time of the meeting, defeating then-No. 25 Kansas State and then-No. 16 Creighton.
Led by head coach Mike Neighbors, Arkansas allows just 61.1 points per game. It has four players averaging double figures in scoring, and sophomore guard Samara Spencer leads the charge 16.3 points per contest.
Arkansas and LSU will face each other on Wednesday.
STRUGGLING FOES FROM LAST YEAR
Kentucky and Tennessee finished last season in the national rankings, but are now on the outside of the polls looking in.
Tennessee started the season as the No. 6 team in the country, but quickly fell out of the rankings after a 2-4 start to the season.
The team’s caught a few bad breaks as well. It lost starting center Tamari Key for the season due to blood clots in her lungs. Leading scorer Rickea Jackson missed two games because of a “coach’s decision” before returning this month.
Tennessee’s shown it can still be competitive, however. It narrowly lost to No. 2 Stanford last week after leading by five entering the fourth quarter. The Volunteers currently hold an 8-6 record.
Kentucky finished last year as the nation’s No. 15 team, though it hasn’t managed to re-enter the rankings this season.
It lost star forward Rhyne Howard to the WNBA and lost other key contributors to the transfer portal. Just two of its starters — Jada Walker and Robyn Benton — are returning players from last year. UK only returned four players total from last year.
Kentucky is currently 8-4 heading into conference play. The Wildcats defeated South Carolina in last year’s SEC Tournament championship. Former USC guard Eniya Russell is now on the roster after transferring at the end of last season.
SOUTH CAROLINA WBB SEC SCHEDULE
Thursday: home vs. Texas A&M (SEC Network)
Monday: at Georgia, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 5: home vs. Auburn, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Jan. 8: at Mississippi State, 1 p.m. (SEC Network or ESPN2)
Jan. 12: at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Jan. 15: home vs. Missouri, 1 p.m. (SEC Network or ESPN2)
Jan. 19: at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Jan. 22: home vs. No. 24 Arkansas, 3 p.m. (SEC Network or ESPN2)
Jan. 29: at Alabama, 1 p.m. (SEC Network or ESPN2)
Feb. 2: home vs. Kentucky, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 9: at Auburn, 8 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Feb. 12: home vs. No. 9 LSU, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 16: home vs. Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Feb. 19: at Ole Miss, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 23: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Feb. 26: home vs. Georgia, noon (SEC Network or ESPN2)
