Gamecocks Open NCAA Action Friday at Home
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 2/2 South Carolina opens NCAA Tournament action on Fri., Mar. 21, against Tennessee Tech with tipoff at Colonial Life Arena set for approximately 4 p.m. and the game airing on ESPN.
Gamecock Notables
South Carolina is entering its 21st NCAA Tournament, including its 13th-straight under head coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks earned a regional No. 1 seed for the fifth-straight season and the ninth time in those 13 Staley-lead appearances. They are 12-0 in first-round games with Staley at the helm.
The Gamecocks swept the SEC Regular-Season and Tournament championships for the third-straight season and the seventh time in the last 11 seasons. They completed the sweep behind a pair of top-10 wins at the SEC Tournament, including the program’s first win over an AP No. 1 team in the title game.
South Carolina dominated in the second quarter at the SEC Tournament, outscoring opponents by an average of 13.3 points and holding them to just 21.6 percent shooting in the period.
The Gamecocks lead the SEC in field goal percentage (.465) and field goal percentage defense (.351), ranking 16th and sixth in the nation, respectively, all while playing the toughest schedule in the nation.
South Carolina leads the nation with 42.6 points in the paint per game this season, which accounts for 52.9 percent of its total offense. It outscores opponents by 16.7 points per game in that space, which jumped to +25.3 points per game in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks are 28-0 when outscoring opponents in the paint.
A program-record tying four Gamecocks drew All-America recognition this week. It marked the second time in three seasons the program hit that mark. Joyce Edwards and Chloe Kitts were honorable mention selections of both the USBWA and the AP. MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao joined them on the AP list.
Since posting her triple-double at Ole Miss (Feb. 27), Chloe Kitts has been on a tear leading the team with 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 64.7 percent in that stretch.
MiLaysia Fulwiley and Sania Feagin joined MVP Kitts on the SEC All-Tournament Team. Fulwiley averaged 13.0 points and team-highs in assists (3.3) and steals (2.7), while Feagin shot 75.0 percent from the field for 12.7 points per game to go with her 5.3 rebounding average at the event.
By the Numbers
5 –In the SEC Tournament, five Gamecocks averaged at least 9.5 points, and five averaged at least 4.0 boards.
15 – The Gamecocks’ 15 games against ranked opponents is one shy of the program’s single-season record.
The Tennessee Tech Series
The Gamecocks are 4-2 against the Golden Eagles with all six meetings taking place before the 1990s. They are 3-1 in games played in Columbia.
The last time the two teams met was also in the NCAA Tournament. The 11th-seeded Golden Eagles scored a 77-73 victory over then-No. 17 South Carolina in a first-round upset on Mar. 15, 1989.
Gamecocks Against the Field
This season, South Carolina has faced 16 of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, three of which are also in the Birmingham 2 Region. The Gamecocks went 17-3 against those 16 teams, including an 12-1 mark against the nine other SEC teams in the field.
In addition to their nine league rivals in the field – Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt – South Carolina played non-conference games at UCLA and versus Duke, Iowa State (N), Michigan (N), NC State (N), TCU (N) and UConn.
The 16 teams include two No. 1 seeds, four No. 2 seeds, two No. 3 seeds, a No. 4 seed, three No. 5 seeds, a No. 6 seed, a No. 7 seed, a No. 9 seed and a No. 11 seed.
SEC Tournament Rewind
South Carolina won its third-straight and ninth overall SEC Tournament earlier this month. The Gamecocks reached the tournament title game for the SEC-record sixth-straight time.
The Gamecocks won their three games, including two against top-10 teams, by an average of 19.3 points and yielded just 61.0 points per game. The path to the title was familiar but unique as South Carolina faced both league newcomers, topping #10/10 Oklahoma in the semifinals (93-75) and #1/1 Texas in the title game (64-45).
Four Gamecocks averaged double-digit points at the event, led by Tournament MVP Chloe Kitts’ 16.7 points per game. The junior forward also grabbed a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game and shot a sterling 74.2 percent from the field.
All-Tournament selections MiLaysia Fulwiley, who poured in 13.0 points per game, and Sania Feagin, who netted 12.7 points per game trailed only freshman Joyce Edwards, who notched 14.7 points per game in her debut season at the event.
