Gamecocks Travel to Texas A&M Thursday

#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (25-1, 13-1) AT TEXAS A&M  (14-12, 4-10)
FEBRUARY 24, 2022 |  8:30 PM ET |  BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, TX | REED ARENA

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• With a pair of wins last week, South Carolina claimed at least a share of its sixth SEC regular-season title in the last nine seasons. It is the most consistent title streak since Tennessee won seven in nine seasons 1999-2007. A win tonight would clinch the title outright for the Gamecocks.
• Rebounding has been a steady constant for the Gamecocks this season. South Carolina leads the nation in rebounding margin (+17.8), including 12 games out-rebounding its opponent by at least 20. Three of those 12 games were against ranked opponents, and seven of them have come in SEC play.
• Turnovers and turnover margin have been a sore spot for the Gamecocks this season, but that trend may be turning around. In the last five games, South Carolina is even with its opponent on turnovers, largely by lowering its turnover average from 15.2 entering that stretch to 13.6 over those five games. Last week’s 12.0 average over two games certainly helped that effort.
• National Player of the Year candidate Aliyah Boston tied Sylvia Fowles’ SEC record for consecutive double-doubles with her 19th straight against #12/8 Tennessee (Feb. 20), moving her into seventh place in the NCAA single-season record book. Of her 20 double-doubles on the season, nine have come in her 11 games against ranked opponents.
• Junior guard Zia Cooke was the Gamecocks’ top scorer last week, pouring in 16.0 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting. She has netted double figures in each of the last six games.
• Since her return from helping Canada qualify for the 2022 FIIBA World Cup, junior Laeticia Amihere has been more productive in fewer minutes on the court. In her last two games, the 6-foot-4 forward is fourth on the team with 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, averaging just 13.0 minutes.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – Aliyah Boston is the only player ranked in the top 10 in offensive AND defensive rating . Only one other joins her in the top 50 of both.

6.2 – South Carolina out-scores its opponent by 6.2 points per third quarter, including seven games with double-digit advantages.

75.0 – Dawn Staley’s 75.0 SEC winning percentage is second to only Pat Summitt in league history.

NOTES

The Texas A&M Series
South Carolina is 8-4 against Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC ahead of the 2012-13 season.  The Gamecocks have won eight of the last nine meetings, but are just 3-2 against the Aggies in Reed Arena.

South Carolina won this season’s first game between the two, 65-45 on Jan. 13, behind four Gamecocks in double figures. A dominant third quarter turned a two-point halftime lead into a more substantial victory with five different Gamecocks combining for 21 points on 46.7 percent shooting to the Aggies’ 10 points in the period.

Road Ready
The Gamecocks are 284-260 all-time in road games, including a 109-46 mark under head coach Dawn Staley.  Her .703 winning percentage on the road is the best in program history.

In SEC road games, Gamecocks are 76-33 (.697) during Staley’s tenure.
 

Schedule Strength
South Carolina’s 11 games against nationally ranked teams, eight of which were in the AP top 15 at the time of the game, are the most in the country. Wins in all 11 of those games have the Gamecocks atop the NET rankings and are the most during the regular-season schedule in program history. The overall program record for ranked wins is 13, originally set in 2015-16 and tied in 2019-20.

The Gamecocks’ non-conference schedule is rated third-toughest in the country and preceded an SEC slate that includes four games against conference rivals in this week’s national rankings.

South Carolina has 17 wins against NET top-50 teams, the most of any team this season.

SEC Stories
South Carolina has been a regular contender for SEC regular-season championships since claiming its first one in 2013-14. In the last nine seasons, the Gamecocks have won the league six times – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 – and finished second in the other three seasons. It is the league’s most successful stretch for one team since Tennessee claimed seven titles in nine seasons 1999-2007.

The Gamecocks are the only program with two 16-0 SEC seasons – 2016, 2020.

After struggling through its first 17 seasons in the powerful league, South Carolina turned a corner with the arrival of Dawn Staley. Under her tutelage, the Gamecocks are 165-55 (.750) in league play with the 165 wins accounting for 72.1 percent of the program’s 229 all-time SEC victories.