What to watch for in No. 3 South Carolina WBB’s regular-season finale at Kentucky
South Carolina women’s basketball is hitting the road for its final game of the 2025-26 season on Sunday.
Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks (28-2, 14-1 SEC) will play at No. 16 Kentucky (21-8, 8-7 SEC) in Memorial Coliseum.
Not much is on the line for the Gamecocks but finishing the season with a win. South Carolina clinched its fifth consecutive SEC regular-season title Thursday with a win over Missouri. The Gamecocks have also already clinched the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, which starts next week.
Kentucky comes into the game tied for No. 6 in the SEC standings with Ole Miss and Tennessee. A win for the Wildcats would help them stay put in the standings, but a loss could drop them as low as the No. 10 seed, depending on how other games shake out Sunday.
Here are a few things to watch for in the game:
Quick injury update
South Carolina fans will have to wait for the official SEC injury report to be released Saturday night for any injury updates.
Johnson missed the Gamecocks’ last game vs. Missouri on Thursday with an upper body contusion. Johnson was seen participating during the portion of Friday’s practice local media were permitted to view and was moving around good.
Sophomore forward Adhel Tac was still on a scooter Friday afternoon. She has missed the last four games with a lower leg injury.
Matchup to watch: Madina Okot vs Clara Strack
One of the, if not the, most intriguing matchups Sunday will take place in the paint between South Carolina’s Madina Okot and Kentucky’s Clara Strack.
Strack has been a force for the Wildcats this year. The 6-foot-5 junior hasn’t skipped a beat from her sophomore campaign that saw her win SEC Defensive Player of the Year and land on SEC All-Defensive and All-SEC Second teams last year.
Strack is averaging a double-double this season with career highs in points (16.4), rebounds (10.2) and blocks (2.7) per game.
“She’s tough, like she’s really tough,” Staley said. “She moves you around. She’s unafraid. She’s really good on both sides of the basketball. Tough matchup for anybody. That’s why she’s been [SEC First Team].”
Okot has had an all-conference year in her own right. The 6-foot-6 center is averaging 13.8 points and an SEC-leading 10.9 rebounds this year for the Gamecocks. Okot has found a different gear in the last five games thanks to a newfound confidence she gained coming off the bench for a few games after a slump earlier in late January.
In the last six games, Okot has tallied six straight double-doubles and is averaging 15.2 points and 14.3 rebounds.
“We got to put Madina in positions where she can be effective,” Staley said. “If Madina is guarding her, then we got to give her a little bit of help. But I think Madina is up for the challenge. I’m sure they both are. So should be a really good battle.”
The all-time series vs Kentucky
South Carolina leads the all-time series vs. Kentucky 42-35. The Gamecocks have won the last five matchups, including a 78-66 win over the Wildcats at home last year.
South Carolina has won its last five games against Kentucky by an average of 27.8 points. The largest win in that span was a 48-point victory in Lexington in 2024.
Kentucky has only beaten South Carolina three times since 2015. Those wins came in 2022 (the SEC Tournament Championship game), 2019 and 2015.
The last time the Gamecocks lost on the road to Kentucky was a 67-56 defeat in 2015.
ESPN Analytics gives South Carolina an 82.2% chance of beating Kentucky. Analytics site BartTorvik.com gives the Gamecocks an 86% chance of victory and has USC as a 10.7-point favorite.
How to watch South Carolina vs Kentucky
- Who: No. 3 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Kentucky
- When: Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
- Where: Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky
- TV: SEC Network+
- Stream: ESPN.com or ESPN the app
- Radio: 107.5 FM (Brad Muller)
