Dec. 31, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 6/6 South Carolina celebrates the New Year with the start of SEC action on Sun., Jan. 1, when Alabama visits Colonial Life Arena in a 2 p.m. game to air on ESPN2. The Gamecocks (10-1) have won their last three SEC openers, while the defensive-minded Crimson Tide (12-1) ranks 12th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 52.5 points per game.

South Carolina Notables

• Entering its 26th season in the SEC, South Carolina is 8-17 in league openers with seven of those eight wins coming at home. Under head coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks are 4-4 in SEC openers including wins in the last three. The Gamecocks and Crimson Tide have met twice in SEC openers, with South Carolina winning the 2012 league opener and Alabama picking up the win in the 2004 edition.
• The three-time reigning SEC Coach of the Year, Dawn Staley is 83-43 in SEC regular-season action through eight seasons at the Gamecocks’ helm. Despite a career that spans just 32.0 percent of the program’s 25 seasons in the league, her win total represents 56.5 percent of the program’s 147 SEC victories.
• The Gamecocks were picked to win a fourth-straight SEC title by both the league’s coaches and media.
• Today’s game pits two teams statistically ranked among the best in the nation. On offense, South Carolina has the edge, ranking 18th in scoring and 24th in field goal percentage, while the Alabama is 30th and 60th, respectively. Defense goes to the Crimson Tide, which ranks 12th in scoring defense and 16th in field goal percentage defense, while South Carolina ranks 28th and 10th in those categories, respectively.
• Individually, today’s game pits the SEC’s top two shot blockers against each other. Alabama’s Ashley Knight leads the league with 2.6 per game. South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson is next in line with 2.2 per outing.
• South Carolina is tied for the SEC lead with four games this season against AP Top-25 opponents, winning all four, including a league-best three vs. top-10 foes. Alabama is facing a ranked team for the first time this season.
• Through games of Dec. 29, the Gamecocks are third in the RPI behind just UConn and Notre Dame.

By the Numbers

1 Program in SEC history to have three straight Players of the Year — South Carolina (Tiffany Mitchell 2014, 2015; A’ja Wilson 2016)
1 SEC team with multiple selections on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 — South Carolina (Alaina Coates, A’ja Wilson)
2 Career blocked shots separating senior Alaina Coates from junior A’ja Wilson’s school record
3 Stats in which Alaina Coates ranks among the top 15 in the NATION — FG percentage (3rd, .678), rebounding (14th, 10.7), double-doubles (13th, 7)
4 Gamecocks ranked among the SEC’s top 20 scorers — A’ja Wilson (7th), Alaina Coates (17th), Kaela Davis (19th), Allisha Gray (20th)
10 Games scoring in double figures for A’ja Wilson, the most on the team this season
20.4 Points per game by which South Carolina has outscored its competition in the paint (42.9-22.5)
22 Consecutive Gamecock wins against SEC foes, dating back to the start of the 2015 SEC Tournament

Alabama Series Notes

The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 22-15 and are undefeated against the Crimson Tide in the 12 games of the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). South Carolina’s 12-game win streak against Alabama has an average winning margin of 22.3 points with a high of 43 in the first of two meetings in the 2014-15 season (102-59 on Jan. 8, 2015, in Tuscaloosa). The Gamecocks’ last loss in the series was a 65-54 Alabama victory on Jan. 10, 2008, in Tuscaloosa.

Fourth Follow-Up?

The Gamecocks enter the 2016-17 season as the three-time reigning SEC regular-season champions, becoming just the third program to win three straight titles, joining Tennessee (2000-04 and 1993-95) and Auburn (1987-89). SEC coaches and the media picked the Gamecocks to claim the conference title again this season. The league has had the same champion four straight seasons just once before when Tennessee claimed its fourth straight in 2003 en route to the league-record five consecutive titles (2000-04).

Tough Tasks

Head coach Dawn Staley did not shy away from a challenging schedule this season, despite having to replace five seniors from last season’s squad. The Gamecocks’ overall schedule is ranked the sixth-toughest in the nation based on opponent winning percentage (.741). South Carolina’s docket features 19 games against teams that played in the 2016 postseason, including 16 against NCAA Tournament squads. The slate includes nine games against teams ranked in either the AP or USA Today Coaches Top 25 this week, including four against this week’s top-10 teams. Just three of those nine games are home games for the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks are currently 4-0 against ranked foes.

SEC Stories

Gamecocks’ national profile by building the Gamecocks into a consistent SEC contender with three straight regular-season titles, shirking decades of difficulty in the nation’s best women’s basketball conference. In her ninth season at the helm, Staley boasts an 83-43 (.659) SEC regular-season record and has finished outside the league’s top five just twice — an unprecedented achievement for a program that had finished INSIDE the top five only two times in the previous 17 seasons. Staley’s 83 wins include now five seasons of double-digit league victories — 10 in 2012, 11 in 2013, an SEC-best 14 in 2014 and 15 in 2015, and 16 in 2016 — and account for 56.5 percent of the program’s all-time 147 league wins. Staley’s SEC regular-season record includes a 46-18 (.719) mark at home and a 37-25 (.597) slate on the road.

League Legends

The Gamecocks are the only team in the nation to boast two former WNBA All-Stars on their coaching staff in head coach Dawn Staley and assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson. Five other programs tout multiple WNBA alums — Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Vanderbilt — but only Beth Cunningham at Notre Dame and Tina Thompson at Texas earned All-Star status at least once in their time in the league. South Carolina has the added bonus of its other two coaches — associate head coach Lisa Boyer and assistant coach Fred Chmiel — having experience coaching in the WNBA as well.