No. 2 South Carolina WBB hosts No. 5 LSU: How to watch and stream, tip time, storylines
South Carolina will take on LSU at Colonial Life on Friday night in a high-stakes women’s basketball matchup between two of the top teams in the SEC and the country as a whole.
The game, initially slated for Thursday night, was moved back a day after winter weather caused travel issues for LSU.
What channel is the South Carolina-LSU game on?
- Who: No. 2 South Carolina (18-1, 6-0 SEC) vs. No. 5 LSU (20-0, 5-0 SEC)
- When: Friday, 5 p.m.
- Where: Colonial Life Area, Columbia, SC
- TV Network: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN app and ESPN.com
- Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area (Brad Muller)
Top storylines for the game
Last year’s heated title game: Friday will be the first time South Carolina and LSU have played since last year’s SEC Championship game. The Gamecocks won 79-72, but the day was ultimately muddied by a late-game altercation that resulted in multiple player ejections.
LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson was called for an intentional foul on USC’s MiLaysia Fulwiley. Johnson then pushed USC’s Ashlyn Watkins and, after some brief jawing, Kamilla Cardoso pushed Johnson to the ground. The dust-up led to both benches clearing, with coaches and security personnel working together to de-escalate the situation relatively quickly. Ultimately, Cardoso was ejected for fighting, the entire LSU bench was ejected, and everyone on USC’s bench minus Sania Feagin and Te-Hina Paopao were ejected.
Series history: LSU technically holds the lead 22-20 all-time, but it’s been all South Carolina in recent history. The Gamecocks have won 16 straight over LSU, with the Tigers’ last win over USC coming in January of 2012. Dawn Staley holds a 4-0 advantage over Kim Mulkey at LSU, though Mulkey did beat Staley twice when she was a head coach at Baylor.
At 20-0, LSU is having one of its best starts in program history. The Tigers’ 2023 national championship team set that record with a 23-0 start. The team that handed LSU its first loss that year? South Carolina.
Another freshman phenom: Joyce Edwards is on a tear for the Gamecocks. The freshman was named SEC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season after leading USC in scoring last week. Edwards set a new career high with 21 points in a win over Alabama and scored 16 against Oklahoma. She averaged 19 points per game on 75% shooting in those two games. Edwards leads South Carolina with 12.1 points per game and is No. 2 on the team with a shooting percentage of 56.5%.
National team of the week (again): South Carolina earned a National Team of the Week nod from the U.S. Basketball Writers of America on Tuesday. It’s the third time this season the Gamecocks have earned the honor and the first time in the awards history that a team has won it back-to-back weeks. South Carolina has overwhelmed its opponents recently and is on a 13-game double-digit victory streak, a program record.
LSU’s high-powered offense: Mulkey’s squad enters the game with one of the best offenses in the country. The Tigers are averaging 90.6 points per game, putting them at No. 3 in the country and No. 2 in the SEC. As a team, LSU sports the No. 6 team shooting percentage (48.9%) in the country. LSU also gets to the free-throw line often. The Tigers are No. 11 in the country with an average of 22.60 free throws attempted per game and No. 7 in the country with 16.75 free throws made per game. The Tigers get most of their production on offense from their guards, with all but one of the four Tigers averaging more than 10 points a game playing the position. Flau’jae Johnson leads LSU with 20 points per game.
Another post threat: Since losing Ashlyn Watkins, South Carolina has run into a gauntlet of teams with a star post player (see Texas’ Madison Booker and Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers). LSU’s x-factor in the post is Aneesah Morrow. The 6-foot-1 senior is a two-time All-American player who started her career at DePaul but transferred to LSU last year. Morrow is currently averaging a double-double with 18.7 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. Her rebound numbers are the best in the SEC and the country as a whole. Though South Carolina has performed just fine in the absence of Watkins, Morrow is still a threat to fill up the stat sheet regardless of who is guarding her.
Predictions
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives South Carolina a 87% chance of beating LSU. Bart Torvik gives South Carolina a 94% chance to win the game and has the Gamecocks as 18.3 point favorites, as of Thursday morning.
South Carolina WBB schedule/results
Nov. 4: South Carolina 68, Michigan 62
Nov. 10: South Carolina 71, NC State 57
Nov. 14: South Carolina 92, Coppin State 60
Nov. 17: South Carolina 95, East Carolina 44
Nov. 20: South Carolina 77, Clemson 45
Nov. 24: UCLA 77, South Carolina 62
Nov. 28: South Carolina 76, Iowa State 36
Nov. 30: South Carolina 99, Purdue 51
Dec. 5: South Carolina 81, Duke 70
Dec. 8: South Carolina 85, TCU 52
Dec. 15: South Carolina 78, South Florida 62
Dec. 19: South Carolina 82, Charleston Southern 46
Dec. 29: South Carolina 93, Wofford 47
Jan. 2: South Carolina 83, Missouri 52
Jan. 5: South Carolina 95, Mississippi State 68
Jan. 9: South Carolina 90, Texas A&M 49
Jan. 12: South Carolina 67, Texas 50
Jan. 16: South Carolina 76, Alabama 58
Jan. 19: South Carolina 101, Oklahoma 60
Jan. 24: vs LSU, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 27: at Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN 2)
Feb. 2: vs Auburn, 12 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 6: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Feb. 9: at Texas, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Feb. 13: vs Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 16: vs Connecticut, 1 p.m. (ABC/Disney+)
Feb. 20: vs Arkansas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Feb. 23: at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Feb. 27: at Ole Miss, 9 p.m.
March 2: vs Kentucky, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
