What to watch in No. 3 South Carolina WBB’s road trip to No. 22 Louisville
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team are looking to get back in the win column Thursday.
The No. 2 Gamecocks will hit the road to play at No. 22 Louisville as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
South Carolina (7-1) is coming off its first loss of the season to now-No. 2 Texas. Louisville (7-2) is riding a three-game win streak after victories over mid-major teams last weekend.
Here’s what to watch for in the ranked matchup.
Another top 25 test
This is the second consecutive matchup against a ranked opponent for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina is currently 1-1 against Top 25 teams this year. The lone win came against Southern Cal in Los Angeles last month, with the loss being last week against Texas.
The Gamecocks are 48-6 against ranked opponents in the last five years.
Louisville has been in the Top 25 each week this season. The Cardinals, ranked No. 22 in the nation, are 0-2 against ranked competition this season. Louisville lost its season opener to No. 1 UConn 79-66 and 72-62 to rival Kentucky, which at the time was ranked No. 20. Staley said Louisville is a “tough” team.
“They’re good at home as well,” Staley said. “They like to play a lot of different defenses, so point guard play is going to be really important. They got a couple of bigs that can shoot from the outside. So they’re going to challenge us to not fall asleep in transition and not fall asleep in our half-court defense. But it’s going to be a game in which, if we want to win, we have to display all the things that are necessary. The intangibles, tangibles, and we got to execute from a defensive standpoint.”
South Carolina leads the all-time series against Louisville 18-4. Just two of those games have come during Staley’s tenure at USC and both were wins for the Gamecocks.
Offense looking good but still room for improvement
The Gamecocks have looked very good to start the 2025-26 season.
South Carolina’s offense is firing on all cylinders, and it’s doing so efficiently. USC is averaging 89.5 points per game (good for No. 9 in the country) and is shooting 53.7% from the field as a team (No. 4 in the country).
South Carolina’s worst shooting games of the season have come against its two ranked opponents this year. Granted, those numbers — 40.8% from the field in a win over Southern Cal and 43.1% in a loss to Texas — are still relatively good. The Gamecocks were 16-32 on layups against the Longhorns, a number that should be a bit higher given how well USC has played on offense so far this year.
Gamecocks down a player
South Carolina will be without freshman wing Agot Makeer against Louisville. Makeer is in concussion protocol and won’t make the trip, a team spokesperson said Wednesday.
Makeer’s absence leaves the Gamecocks with just nine healthy players available for Thursday’s game. There have been just three games this season where all 10 healthy players on South Carolina’s roster were available for the entirety of the game. With Makeer out, guards like Maddy McDaniel and freshman Ayla McDowell will likely see more playing time off the bench. South Carolina’s guards will also probably see more time on the court.
The freshman has been a steady presence off the bench for South Carolina this year. Makeer is averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She’s also averaging 16 minutes a game, the sixth-most on the team and highest among USC’s two freshmen.
How to watch South Carolina vs. Louisville
- Who: No. 3 South Carolina at No. 21 Louisville
- Where: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville
- When: Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
- TV: ESPN (Mike Monaco, Andraya Carter)
- Radio: 106.7 FM, Sirius Channel 160 or 191 and on the SiriusXM app
