Regular-Season Finale at Ole Miss Sunday
#1/1 SOUTH CAROLINA (26-1, 14-1) AT OLE MISS (22-6, 10-5)
FEBRUARY 28, 2022 | 2 PM ET | OXFORD, MISS. | SJB PAVILION
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- South Carolina’s defense has held opponents 23.7 points per game below their average entering the contest with the Gamecocks. Only Missouri and Mississippi State came within 10 points off their average, which lowers the SEC average slightly to 21.3 points per game below their average.
- In the last five games, South Carolina has asserted its dominance early, outscoring opponents by 9.8 points per first quarter, the largest margin of any quarter of that stretch, which included two top-20 opponents. In the season’s first 22 games, the average first-quarter margin was 7.0 points.
- Plagued by turnovers throughout the season, the Gamecocks have taken care of the ball much better in the last five games, averaging 12.2 turnovers compared to 15.1 per game prior to that stretch.
- In SEC action, South Carolina leads the league in offensive (.466) and defensive (.742) rebounding percentage. The offensive number is considerably higher than second-place Tennessee’s .430 percentage.
- The Gamecock bench has lifted its level of play and consistently delivered good basketball over the last month. The group has scored 25.2 points per game accounting for 33.9 percent of the total offense in the month of February. Prior to February the group’ accounted for 30.1 percent of the offense (21.4 ppg).
- Aliyah Boston continues to stamp her authority on the National Player of the Year race based on her impact on both ends of the court. The only player to rank among the NCAA’s top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency, Boston leads the country with a 45.7 player efficiency rating and a 12.2 win shares mark.
- Since returning from FIBA World Cup qualifying, Laeticia Amihere has been on a tear, averaging 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in the last three games. Prior to her trip, she averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in SEC play.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Aliyah Boston is one of just four players in NCAA Div. I history with a streak of at least 20 consecutive double-doubles in a season.
6 – The Gamecocks have outscored their opponent by double digits in the first quarter six times in SEC play, the most of any quarter.
7 – Freshman Saniya Rivers has handed out seven assists with no turnovers over the last two games.
NOTES
The Ole Miss Series
South Carolina leads the all-time series 26-17 after a 16-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). That record includes wins in the last 14 meetings, dating back to an overtime win in the first of two games in 2010-11. The Gamecocks are 9-8 against Ole Miss in Oxford.
In this season’s first meeting, South Carolina used a dominant first quarter to set the tone for its 69-40 victory on Jan. 27 in Columbia. The Gamecocks shot 53.8 percent in the opening 10 minutes to establish a 21-10 edge that ballooned in the second half. All 15 eligible Gamecocks played in the game with All-American Aliyah Boston the lone player in double figures with 20 points to go with her 12 rebounds.
Road Ready
The Gamecocks are 285-260 all-time in road games, including a 110-46 mark under head coach Dawn Staley. Her .705 winning percentage on the road is the best in program history.
In SEC road games, Gamecocks are 77-33 (.700) 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 18 wins against NET top-50 teams, the most of any team this season.
Paint Production
South Carolina has long dominated the paint on both ends of the court. This season, the Gamecocks average 38.3 points in the paint, accounting for 53.3 percent of their total offense. Unlike many previous seasons, post players have been the dominant scorers in the paint, accounting for 63.6 percent of the paint points with 24.4 such points per game.
Defensively, the Gamecocks have protected the paint, yielding just 23.4 points per game in that space, although that number goes up to 25.3 per game in SEC play. For the season, the Gamecocks are holding opponents to just 38.9 percent shooting within six feet of the basket.
Glass Ceiling
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Gamecocks have dominated on the glass, ranking among the NCAA’s top five in rebounds per game and rebounding margin every season and sixth in offensive rebounds per game each of the last three seasons. South Carolina has been out-rebounded just twice (Stanford, 12/21/21; at Georgia, 2/13/22) in its last 60 games, dating back to the 2019-20 regular-season finale against Texas A&M.
This season, South Carolina leads the nation with a +17.8 rebounding margin. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in offensive rebounding percentage (.460) and are second in defensive (.747) .
Individually, Aliyah Boston leads the way with 11.9 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the nation and second in the SEC. Three other Gamecocks pull in more than five boards per game – center Kamilla Cardoso (5.4), forward Victaria Saxton (5.4) and guard Brea Beal (5.4).
