South Carolina vs. LSU WBB: Tip-off time, TV channel, injury report, odds
South Carolina women’s basketball is gearing up for one of the biggest games of its season this weekend.
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks are traveling to Baton Rouge for a Valentine’s Day edition of their rivalry with No. 6 LSU.
South Carolina is riding a five-game win streak into the game after handing Tennessee its worst loss in program history last week. Meanwhile, LSU is attempting to bounce back from a loss at Texas last week and beat South Carolina for the first time in over a decade.
Here’s everything you need to know about the nationally televised rivalry game.
South Carolina vs LSU: What time, TV channel
- Who: No. 3 South Carolina (24-2, 10-1 SEC) vs No. 6 LSU (22-3, 8-3 SEC)
- When: Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m.
- Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
- TV: ABC
- Stream: ESPN.com or the ESPN app
- Broadcast crew: Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe
- Local radio: 98.5 FM(Brad Muller)
- Satellite radio: Sirius XM Channel 81
South Carolina vs LSU betting odds
The various national outlets, sportsbooks and analytics sites of the world are relatively split on who will win Saturday.
ESPN’s Analytics currently projects LSU as the favorite in the game and gives the Gamecocks a 46.2% chance of winning. Analytics site BartTorvik.com has the game as a true 50-50 toss up. The site currently predicts South Carolina to win 79-78.
DraftKings has South Carolina as a 1.5-point favorite.
Injury updates
With no midweek game on Thursday, South Carolina had some extra time to get its two injured players healthy before the LSU game.
Agot Makeer has missed the last three games with a lower leg injury was not listed on Friday’s SEC injury report. That signals she’s healthy and will play against LSU.
However, Maddy McDaniel and Adhel Tac were both listed as out. McDaniel did not play in South Carolina’s most recent game last week and watched the game from the bench with a boot on her left foot.
The official SEC injury report will be updated two hours before tip-off Saturday.
Series history
South Carolina has a shot to tie the all-time series record with LSU this weekend.
The Tigers lead the series, which started in 1992, with a 22-21 record. That being said, LSU hasn’t beaten South Carolina since 2012. South Carolina has won the last 17 matchups against LSU.
Both teams have been ranked in the last five matchups and only one of those games has been decided by more than 10 points.
Top storylines
Live from Baton Rouge … it’s College GameDay! ESPN’s signature “College GameDay” show will once again precede the South Carolina-LSU game on Saturday. This is the second time LSU has hosted GameDay, both times coming when the Tigers are facing South Carolina. This will be the Gamecocks’ seventh appearance on College GameDay, the most of any women’s basketball program. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. The NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday will also reveal its current Top 16 seeds for the 2026 tournament on the show at 8 p.m.
The Fulwiley Factor: A familiar face to Gamecocks fans will be wearing purple and gold on Saturday instead of garnet and black. LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley will be playing in her first game against her former team since she transferred from South Carolina this offseason. Fulwiley, a Columbia native, played two seasons for the Gamecocks and won a national championship in her freshman year. Staley often touted Fulwiley as a generational talent and many thought she would be the next great Gamecock before she opted to transfer to LSU after her sophomore year.
SEC standings implications: A win would all but guarantee another SEC regular-season title and lock up the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament for South Carolina. The Gamecocks have a strong chance to win the rest of their games this season. As the lone SEC team with one conference loss, a win over LSU would give USC another important tiebreaker in the league standings and some more wiggle room if it were to lose another game this year.
Dawn Staley’s scouting report/thoughts on LSU
Staley was complimentary of LSU when speaking to local media Friday.
“I just think LSU collectively is a really good team that’s really talented,” Staley said. “They got all the spots covered, and they got depth. So that is kind of what you want when you’re building a team, is to have great stars, great role players and great depth.”
Both teams’ performance in the transition game could be a deciding factor, Staley said. South Carolina’s coach added that mental fortitude, discipline and other intangibles will be a difference maker.
“It’s all the transition game, if you’re able to control the amount of easy opportunities that they get in transition, you can make it a game,” Staley said. “If they control the amount of easy opportunities we get in transition, and they’re able to play their game, it’s going to be a long night for us. So something really has to give in that area in order for any team to win this game.”
LSU relies heavily on the play of its guards to get wins. As such, the performance from South Carolina’s post players and the battle in the paint will be “huge,” Staley said.
“I do think what we’ve been able to do is control the paint for the most part,” Staley said. “That serves true for this particular game when it comes to controlling the boards, controlling paint points, controlling transition is a key. And then for us defensively controlling the way they just seem to always get the ball in their spots to be effective. Whether that’s dunking or whether that’s behind defenses for dumps. We’re going to be challenged in that area. But as much as we give up just in the paint, we probably have to triple what we have to produce in the paint on the offensive end.”
Keys to the game from ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco
Ruocco told The State this week that he’s expecting a close matchup between South Carolina and LSU. South Carolina’s defense will play a key role, Ruocco said. LSU has a high-powered offense that is No. 1 in the country with 96.6 points per game. Ruocco said he isn’t expecting LSU to come near that mark but that junior guard Mikaylah Williams will play a key role. Williams is averaging 13.4 points per game.
“LSU puts up a remarkable amount of points,” Ruocco said. “However, we saw how much they struggled to score against Texas. South Carolina is very good defensively. So, I don’t think this is going to be the kind of game where LSU is getting anywhere near 100 points. Having said that, they’re playing really well. I think the thing that stands out most to me about LSU this year is Michaela Williams and the leap that she has taken … I think LSU needs Williams to continue to be that player you can just put the ball in the hands of and go get a bucket.”
Ruocco believes Ta’Niya Latson will need to play a similar role to Williams for South Carolina on Saturday. Latson, who led the country in scoring last year, is second for the Gamecocks with 15.5 points per game.
“I think for South Carolina, in games like this, that’s also where they need Ta’Niya Latson to be able to put the ball on the floor and go get hers,” Ruocco said. “ … That’s not really the kind of scorer that Joyce Edwards is, that’s why Latson is here. I think that’s going to be big for her, whether it happens Saturday or not, or just moving forward for South Carolina to make a deep, you know, national championship potential run.”
South Carolina and LSU players to watch
South Carolina guard Raven Johnson: South Carolina’s leader has been efficient on both sides of the ball in her final year with the Gamecocks. Johnson has improved nearly across the board on offense and is averaging career-high marks with 9.9 points per game and a 50% shooting clip. Her playmaking abilities have been on display as well, she’s averaging a career-high 5.4 assists per game with just 1.6 turnovers per game. Johnson, who has been predominantly known for her defensive skills, will likely draw whoever Staley and her staff deem the hardest matchup on the floor against LSU.
South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards: The sophomore star has been on a tear this season. Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring (20.3 ppg) and has a shot at being the first Gamecock since A’ja Wilson to average 20 or more points per game. Edwards’ scoring will obviously matter, but her performance on the glass and on defense in general has a chance to make a difference in the game.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson: The veteran guard is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport. Johnson, an All-American last year, leads LSU with 13.8 points per game. In four matchups with the Gamecocks during her career, Johnson has never scored more than 13 points. That being said, Johnson is always a threat to have a big scoring game. Her true shooting percentage (55.6%) is nearly a career-high mark.
LSU forward Amiya Joyner: LSU is a guard-heavy team and most of its stars are at that position (see Fulwiley, Williams and Johnson). But somebody has to deal with South Carolina’s dominant post presence, and that’s where Joyner comes in. The 6-foot-2 junior leads LSU with 7.1 rebounds per game and also averages 9.9 points. She also plays more minutes per game than any of the four forwards on the roster. The play of Joyner — and her fellow forward Grace Knox and Kate Koval, for that matter — could be a difference maker.
This story was originally published February 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
