Feb. 8, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. No. 6/6 South Carolina enters the final third of the SEC regular season Thursday night when Auburn visits Colonial Life Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network+. The Gamecocks (20-2, 10-1) lead the SEC standings with five games remaining, while the Tigers (15-9, 5-5) are looking to move out of the middle of the pack for one of the top four spots in the upcoming SEC Tournament.

South Carolina Notables

• South Carolina is 9-3 against Auburn in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), including wins in the last six meetings. Three of those six victories have come by double digits.
• The Gamecocks are in the midst of their sixth-straight 20-win season after recording just two in the SEC era prior to head coach Dawn Staley’s arrival.
• South Carolina has amassed at least 10 SEC victories for the sixth straight season, tied for the fourth-longest such streak in league history. Tennessee holds the record with 11 straight (1998-2008) with LSU (2003-09) and Kentucky (2010-present) coming in next with seven consecutive seasons. Tennessee is the other program with at least six 10-win seasons in a row (2010-15).
• Tonight’s game features the only three players to appear in the SEC’s rankings in average points, steals and blocked shots in SEC action ââ’¬” Alaina Coates (13.1 ppg, 1.4 bpg, 1.6 spg), Allisha Gray (13.3 ppg, 0.8 bpg, 1.7 spg) and Auburn’s Katie Frerking (18.2 ppg, 2.3 spg, 0.8 bpg).
• South Carolina has won games at nearly every interval of point margin and by scoring from 62 to 98 points. The Gamecocks are 4-1 in games decided by single-digit points, 5-1 when decided by 10-19 points, 4-0 by 20-29 points, 2-0 by 30-39 points and 2-0 by at least 50 points. They are 5-1 when scoring in the 60s, 6-1 when in the 70s, 4-0 in the 80s and 5-0 in the 90s.
• In three games last week, the Gamecock offense was as consistently high scoring as it’s been in SEC action thanks to more active ball movement. Averaging 76.0 points in the three outings last week, including two on the road, the Gamecocks shot 48.0 percent from the field and handed out 15.3 assists per game. They entered the week scoring 73.5 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting with 13.0 assists per game.
• Senior center Alaina Coates has been on a tear since the Gamecocks’ first SEC loss in two seasons, averaging 19.0 points and 18.5 rebounds while shooting 80.0 percent from the field over the last two games.
• Junior guard Allisha Gray has thrived since her roommate A’ja Wilson was forced to miss two games due to injury (vs. Georgia, at LSU), especially in the second half. In the eight games, including the two Wilson was out, Gray leads the team with 8.0 points per second half on 63.9 percent shooting. She netted double-figure points in the final 20 minutes of four of those games, including 16 against #4/4 Mississippi State (Jan. 23) to help lead the Gamecocks to the win.
• Freshman point guard Tyasha Harris has shown good command of the high octane offense she manages as part of the starting lineup. Permanently taking over the spot at the start of SEC action after making her debut start against Minnesota, she has helped lift the Gamecocks’ first-quarter scoring average from 18.9 to 21.8. In her 12 starts, she averages 4.0 assists per game against 1.9 turnovers per outing for a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The Gamecock starting frontcourt of Alaina Coates and A’ja Wilson continued to draw national attention this week with both earning spots on the Naismith Top 30 list released Wednesday. They are two of six SEC players on the list.

By the Numbers

3 Gamecocks shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field ââ’¬” Alaina Coates (.665), A’ja Wilson (.575) and Allisha Gray (.507)
3.8 Assists per game by freshman point guard Tyasha Harris in SEC play
4 Opponents this season who have scored more than 65 points ââ’¬” #7/6 Ohio state, #14/15 Texas, Duke, Tennessee
5 Gamecocks averaging double-figure points in SEC play ââ’¬” A’ja Wilson (17.7), Allisha Gray (13.3), Alaina Coates (13.1), Bianca Cuevas-Moore (10.8) and Kaela Davis (10.6)
11 Games of five or more rebounds by junior guard Allisha Gray this season
19.4 Points per game by A’ja Wilson in the five games since being fully cleared after her ankle injury

Auburn Series Notes

The Gamecocks’ six-game win streak against the Tigers has leveled the series at 21-21. South Carolina is 9-3 against the Tigers in the Dawn Staley era, including a 73-47 win at Auburn earlier this season (Jan. 5). Seven of the last 12 meetings have been decided by single digits, and all three of South Carolina’s losses to Auburn have come by a combined 15 points.

In this season’s previous meeting, the Tigers focused on locking down the Gamecocks’ frontcourt, which helped junior guard Kaela Davis get free for five 3s and 19 of her 21 points in the first quarter. With the South Carolina defense in full force early, the Auburn trailed 29-6 by the end of the first period, and the Gamecocks stayed ahead through the final buzzer.

Holding Home Court

The Gamecocks are 417-155 all-time on their home court, including a 175-60 mark in Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina is 110-27 at home during the Dawn Staley era and has lost just twice in its last 62 home games, including undefeated home seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The Gamecocks have won 30 of their last 31 SEC regular-season home games dating back to the 2012-13 season.

RPI Standing

The Gamecocks are currently third in the RPI behind UConn and Notre Dame. Their opponents have an average RPI of 80, which ranks seventh in the country and third in the SEC (behind Kentucky at second and Tennessee at fifth).

With a tough non-conference schedule, South Carolina has already faced eight teams in the RPI top 25 and two others in the top 50. The Gamecocks lead the SEC with six wins against this week’s top-25 RPI teams.

In the SEC, five other teams are ranked in the RPI top 25 ââ’¬” Mississippi State (4), Tennessee (14), Kentucky (16), Texas A&M (20) and Auburn (25). LSU (26) and Missouri (30) round out the SEC teams in the top 50.

Location, Location, Location

The Gamecocks average 38.4 points in the paint this season, making up 49.3 percent of their offense. Only two opponents have out-scored South Carolina in the paint this season ââ’¬” Duke (42-32, 12/3/16) and Tennessee (38-26, 1/20/17). The Gamecocks are out-pacing their opponents in that space by 14.9 points per game. Their interior advantage has been at least 20 points eight times, including a season-high 44 against Maine (Nov. 21). In six games against ranked opponents, South Carolina has out-scored its opponent 224-170 in the paint.

Alai-ja Awaits

Opponents may be inclined to think of the paint as the Gamecock-owned continent of Alai-ja as senior center Alaina Coates and junior forward A’ja Wilson have firmly planted the flag in the lane on both ends of the court. Both were on numerous preseason All-America lists this season with Wilson grabbing 32 of a possible 33 first-team votes from the Associated Press. ESPN tapped Wilson as the top player in the nation this season as well, naming Coates the No. 9 player.

This season, the pair combine to average 29.3 points and 18.2 rebounds while shooting a combined 61.5 percent from the field. In six games against ranked opponents, those averages rise to 32.3 points, accounting for 42.5 percent of the offense, and 21.5 rebounds. Not just one-dimensional threats, the duo also averages 3.1 assists this season. Defensively, they combine for 3.5 blocked shots per game.

Earning All-America and First-Team All-SEC status last season, the duo averaged a combined 27.3 points, 18.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. In the Gamecocks’ 15 games against ranked opponents, the pair was even more dominant with 29.7 points per game, 20.3 rebounds per contest and 4.9 blocks per outing.