April 1, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In its NCAA Championship Game debut, No. 3/4 South Carolina faces familiar foe No. 7/7 Mississippi State for the title on Sun., April 2, at 6 p.m. ET at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Gamecocks and Bulldogs are each making their debut in the national final.

South Carolina Notables

• The Gamecocks are making their NCAA championship game debut in their 14th season in the NCAA Tournament.
• South Carolina and Mississippi State are squaring off for the third time this season with the Gamecocks claiming the first two meetings by 6.5 points per game. The Bulldogs are the second three-time opponent for South Carolina this season as the Gamecocks completed a three-game sweep of Kentucky in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
• The Gamecocks lead the SEC in eight stats with Mississippi State coming in second in six of those ââ’¬” scoring offense, scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
• South Carolina has proven it can win games using many different playing styles. The Gamecocks are 18-0 when holding opponents under 60 points and 15-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
• Junior Allisha Gray continues to step into whatever gap her team is having in any game, thriving in the second half of tight contests. The 6-foot guard who has been battling in the post since the injury to Alaina Coates contributes beyond her 13.0 points per game, reeling in 4.8 rebounds per context, including 8.0 per game over her last five outings. She leads the team with 10.0 points per fourth quarter in the 12 games within 10 points at half, shooting 62.7 percent.
• Junior forward A’ja Wilson has taken on all defenses since Alaina Coates’ injury and refused to back down. In those seven games, Wilson averages 18.3 points and 9.6 rebounds to go with her 2.4 blocks shots average.

By the Numbers

2 Games this season the Gamecocks have come back from double-digit deficits
3 Active Gamecocks averaging double-digit points against ranked opponents this season ââ’¬” Wilson (18.7), Davis (13.9) and Gray (12.4)
5.7 More points in the paint per game the Gamecocks have scored since Alaina Coates’ injury
7 Wins against top-10 opponents for the Gamecocks this season, including two without Alaina Coates
27 Quarters this season the Gamecocks have held an opponent to 20.0 percent or worse shooting

Mississippi State Series Notes

After winning the last 10 meetings, South Carolina leads the series 19-16. The current win streak snapped a four-game skid and includes a pair of wins earlier this season.

In the Dawn Staley, defense has dominated the series with the Gamecocks yielding 60 or more points just twice in the 13 games. In the all-time series (35 games), both teams have been nationally ranked seven times, including three other top-10 matchups. The higher-ranked team won six of those eight meetings with the Gamecocks breaking the trend with their 64-40 win over then-No. 4/4 Mississippi State earlier this season.

Gamecock junior A’ja Wilson has played five career games against the Bulldogs, averaging 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds, including 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in two outings this season.

Both of this season’s battles were decided deep into the second half, and the team’s played to a tie in the paint in both outings. In the SEC Tournament contest, the Gamecock defense yielded just four fourth-quarter points to come back from a five-point deficit entering the period to score a 59-49 victory in Greenville. Wilson posted seven points and eight boards in the decisive quarter, adding two blocked shots.

In the season’s first meeting (Jan. 23), South Carolina rallied from a seven-point halftime lead as Kaela Davis locked down Victoria Vivians in the final 20 minutes and Allisha Gray poured in 16 points and made a key defensive play during the stretch to deliver a 64-61 victory in Columbia.

This is South Carolina Athletics

While Columbia, S.C., is this season’s center of college basketball with both teams in the NCAA Final Four, South Carolina Athletics thrives across its 21 sports.

In the last 12 months, five Gamecock teams have made the Elite 8 in NCAA Championships ââ’¬” men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf and women’s soccer.

Currently, nine Gamecock teams are ranked in the Top 25 of their respective sports ââ’¬” women’s basketball, women’s soccer, baseball, equestrian, women’s golf, beach volleyball, men’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and women’s tennis.

South Carolina is one of five schools nationally, including two in the SEC, to be ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in attendance for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football.

Gamecock student-athletes have achieved 20 straight semesters of cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher.

With women’s basketball and women’s soccer claiming titles this season, South Carolina has won 17 SEC Championships across all sports.

Heart of a Champion

Tournament time shows just how strong a players’ iron has been forged in the heat of the season. In these win-or-go-home games this season, South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson has put South Carolina on her back even as the defensive focus on her doubled in the absence of her long-time frontcourt partner Alaina Coates.

In eight postseason games spanning the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, Wilson averages 18.9 points on 57.8 percent shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 blocked shots and 1.4 steals.

In the four games within five points at the end of their third quarters, Wilson led the Gamecocks in the fourth quarter with 7.8 points on 50.0 percent shooting (7-of-14) and 81.0 percent free throw accuracy (17-of-21) along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots.

As Arizona State’s Sophie Brunner put it after Wilson’s heroics helped the Gamecocks into the Sweet 16, “She’s their money player, so we knew they wanted to get it to her. We just couldn’t defend her, get the ball out of her hands.”

Gray Area

Due to teammate injuries, junior guard Allisha Gray has started eight games this season as essentially the Gamecocks’ starting power forward. Undersized only in height, the six-foot guard’s heart and competitive fire made those outings ââ’¬” at LSU, at Texas A&M, vs. Mississippi State, UNC Asheville, Arizona State, vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Florida State, vs. Stanford ââ’¬” some of her most productive games of the season. In those eight outings, Gray posted 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 60.3 percent from the field.

NCAA Tournament Tally

Making its championship game debut, South Carolina is in its 14th NCAA Tournament and sixth straight under head coach Dawn Staley, making this season’s senior class just the fourth in program history to play in the NCAA Tournament every season and the second straight to do so. South Carolina earned its fourth No. 1 seed in as many seasons

The Gamecocks are 24-13 overall in the NCAA Tournament with eight Sweet 16 appearances, including two Final Four showings.

In her 17th season as a head coach, Staley has taken a team to the NCAA Tournament 12 times. She is 18-11 at the event, including a 16-5 mark at South Carolina.

Offensive Operation

Head coach Dawn Staley is often thought of as a defensive coach, but she has steadily built an efficient offensive team over the last few seasons. In the last three seasons, the Gamecocks have twice ranked among the nation’s top 20 in points per game ââ’¬” 18th, 77.0 ppg this season and 18th, 75.9 ppg in 2014-15 ââ’¬” and among the top 10 in field goal percentage ââ’¬” sixth, .479 this season and fourth, .484 in 2014-15.