As South Carolina WBB travels to Texas, impact on SEC standings on the line
South Carolina and Texas are, once again, meeting for a top-five matchup Sunday. The No. 2 Gamecocks (22-1, 10-0 SEC) went home victorious last time with a 67-50 win at Colonial Life Arena.
This time, the Longhorns will have home-court advantage.
There’s only so much from the teams’ previous game that can be applied to Sunday’s matinee, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. Regardless, South Carolina is expecting a tough matchup from the No. 4 Longhorns (23-2, 9-1 SEC).
“I think they’re playing a lot more, just inspired,” Staley said. “I think they’re running the same stuff. At this time of the season you’re gonna go with what works, you’re not gonna change it. If I’m them, I’m gonna take a little bit from it. We’re not gonna take a lot from them, because that’s not really their team. That’s not who they’ve been.
“For us we gotta continue doing what we’re doing, clean up our turnovers, clean up our ability to rebound the basketball a little bit better and prevent them from rebounding the ball.”
Potential for standings shakeup
Sunday’s matchup has the potential to shake up the top of The Associated Press poll and affect how the top of the SEC Standings look.
Heading into the game, South Carolina sits atop the league with a one-game lead over Texas.
Here’s a quick look at the SEC standings:
- South Carolina, 10-0
- LSU, 9-1
- Texas, 9-1
- Kentucky, 8-1
- Alabama, 6-4
- Ole Miss, 6-4
- Vanderbilt, 5-5
- Oklahoma, 5-5
- Tennessee, 4-5
- Mississippi State, 4-6
- Auburn, 3-7
- Florida, 3-7
- Texas A&M, 3-7
- Arkansas, 2-8
- Georgia, 1-9
- Missouri, 1-9
A loss Sunday would tie Texas and South Carolina atop the conference. If LSU beats Tennessee the same day, there would be a three-way tie with all those teams at 10-1 in the SEC.
Staley said she’s addressed the importance of the matchup with her team and how the result could affect its regular-season championship chances and SEC Tournament seeding.
“This is for us controlling our own destiny versus looking back and seeing we wish this person loses, we wish that person loses,” Staley said. “We gotta win, gotta win. Gotta win to not worry about all the other stuff if you lose.”
If South Carolina gets a win in Austin, it would put the Gamecocks firmly in the driver’s seat for another SEC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The Gamecocks have already played most of the toughest opponents the SEC has to offer this season, leaving a relatively easy schedule ahead of them in the last month of the regular season.
Future matchups with current SEC bottom-feeders like Arkansas and Florida, games South Carolina should win, would give the Gamecocks some cushion if they were to lose Sunday.
More cushion could also come considering Texas, Kentucky and LSU all still have to play each other. South Carolina closes out its regular season with a matchup against Kentucky as well.
“The league prepares you for this type of game, regardless,” Staley said of the Texas game. “It’s added comfort when you’ve played UCLA at UCLA, went on the road and you played Michigan at a neutral site. We’re prepared for the environment and prepared for the competition. We just have to execute.”
South Carolina vs Texas: What time, channel
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9
Where: Moody Center in Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN
Radio: 107.5 The Game FM
