Once More on the Road Thursday
#1/2 SOUTH CAROLINA (21-1) VS. #25/- ARKANSAS (18-4)
8:30 P.M. ET | FAYETTEVILLE, ARK | BUD WALTON ARENA (9,200)
South Carolina Game Notes // WATCH: SEC Network // LISTEN: 107.5 The Game // Live Stats
ABOUT THIS GAME
- South Carolina is 19-18 all-time against Arkansas with this season’s earlier meeting in Columbia breaking the series tie. The Gamecocks are 12-4 against the Razorbacks in the Dawn Staley era and have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including their last five trips to Bud Walton Arena. Three of those five were decided by single digits, including the most recent trip’s 87-79 victory.
- Tonight’s game features two of the five highest-scoring teams in the country as the Razorbacks average 84.1 points (4th) and the Gamecock are in fifth place with 83.3 points. The standings are reversed in SEC games with South Carolina’s 86.6 ppg leading Arkansas’ 80.0.
- A win tonight would be the Gamecocks’ eighth against a nationally ranked opponent, doubling the four such wins last season. The program record for ranked wins in a season is 13 in 2015-16.
- Freshman forward Laeticia Amihere will miss her second-straight game while she competes with her Canadian National Team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
- This Gamecock team is among the most balanced in program history in terms of scoring and defending. Carolina’s current 83.3 points per game is the best scoring average in program history by 3.1 ppg (1988-89, 80.2 ppg). This season’s defense allowing just 56.0 points per game would be sixth in program history (all coming in the Staley era). The mark bests last year’s 66.8 scoring defense by a wide margin and edges out the 2016-17 National Championship team’s 56.9 pace.
- South Carolina has scored 42.4 points in the paint per game this season, accounting for 50.9 percent of its total offense. That number is distributed pretty evenly across forwards (22.3 ppg) and guards (10.1 ppg), including eight games in which the guards have matched or out-scored the forwards in the paint.
- Senior Tyasha Harris and freshman Aliyah Boston were named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 earlier this week. The list included four other SEC entries, matching the Pac-12 for the most of any conference.
- Sophomore Destanni Henderson has been a dominant force in the last three games, pouring in 11.7 points per game on 57.1 percent field goal shooting while handing out 3.7 assists per game.
- With 20 points against Tennessee on Sunday, Zia Cooke joined A’ja Wilson with a Gamecock freshman-record three 20-point SEC games. Cooke’s other 20-point games came at Alabama (Jan. 5, 20 pts) and against Arkansas (Jan. 9, 21 pts).
BY THE NUMBERS
4 South Carolinas four wins over RPI top-25 teams leads the country, as does its nine wins vs. top-50 RPI teams.
12.7 The Gamecocks have out-scored SEC opponents in the first quarter by 12.7 points (21.8-10.3).
28.6 In SEC play, the South Carolina bench has added 28.6 points per game, led by Destanni Henderson’s 8.2 scoring average.
32.9 In 8 games vs. ranked teams, Tyasha Harris has had her hands on 32.9 percent of the Gamecocks’ 75.9 ppg as she has scored 12.0 ppg and her assists have led to 13.0 ppg.
44.6 South Carolina leads the country with a 44.6 offensive rebounding rate.
56.0 The Gamecocks rank 25th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 56.0 points per game. Only six games have seen an opponent exceed 60 points.
