No. 3/3 Gamecocks on the Road at No. 25/24 Alabama Thursday

Gamecock Notables

• The South Carolina offense is one of the most efficient in the nation, ranking third in field goal percentage (.513) and sixth in 3-point percentage (.383). Both numbers lead the SEC. In nine games against ranked opponents, the Gamecocks are shooting 47.9 percent overall and 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

• Even with a higher octane offense, South Carolina’s success is still built on defensive excellence. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.336) and 3-point percentage defense (.262) and are second in points allowed (56.3). Ranked opponents average 67.4 points on 40.6 percent shooting overall and 29.2 percent from the arc. SEC foes are scoring just 65.7 points per game on their home courts against the Gamecocks.

• South Carolina is fifth in the nation with 6.2 blocks per game, including an SEC-best 5.9 per conference game.

• In nine games against ranked teams, the Gamecocks have created the most separation in the third quarter, out-scoring those opponents by an average of 5.3 points in that quarter.

• The Gamecock frontcourt does it all on defense with Madina Okot leading SEC post players with 3.25 stocks (steals and blocks) per conference game and Joyce Edwards ranking second among the group with 3.04 per game overall.

• Junior guard Tessa Johnson is the only player ranked among the SEC’s top 10 in both overall field goal percentage (.492, 9th) and 3-point percentage (.476, 1st). Her 3-point accuracy ranks third in the NCAA and includes 44.6 percent in SEC games and 54.3 percent against ranked opponents. Per Her Hoop Stats, Johnson is 16th in the nation in points per scoring attempt (1.28) and 30th in points per possession (1.13).

• Senior point guard Raven Johnson is on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list, and her impact on that end of the court goes well beyond traditional stats. In nine games against ranked teams, those teams scored 0.750 points per possession with Johnson on the court compared to 0.949 when she was not. That difference is even more dramatic in man-to-man defensive possessions – 0.762 with her on the floor vs. 0.916 with her off it.

• Senior center Madina Okot has posted a double-double in each of the last three games, averaging 10.7 points and 14.3 rebounds since returning to the starting lineup. Her 10.5 rebounds on the season are up to second in the SEC and 17th in the nation.

By the Numbers
4 – Dawn Staley is one of four head coaches to win 500 games at an SEC school while it was in the league.

+15.7 – South Carolina is outscoring its SEC opponents in the paint by 15.7 points per game.

52.3 – The Gamecocks shot 52.3 percent over the last five games.

The Alabama Series
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series with Alabama 34-15, including a 24-0 mark in the Dawn Staley era (starting 2008-09). South Carolina is 14-8 against the Tide in Tuscaloosa.

Tonight’s game marks the third straight that both teams are nationally ranked, including the first matchup of this season on New Year’s Day in Columbia. The Gamecocks dominated the first and fourth quarters of that meeting en route to an 83-57 victory. Joyce Edwards led all scorers with 25 points.

Ranked Readings
Against ranked teams, South Carolina is 139-73 (.656) in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09), and even that mark is skewed by the early seasons of her tenure. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Gamecocks are 124-34 (.785) against ranked teams, including a 54-7 (.885) mark since the start of the 2021-22 season. The Gamecocks are 123-24 (.837) under Staley when ranked higher/better than their opponent.

This season, South Carolina is 7-2 against ranked opponents, including a 4-1 mark against top-10 foes. The Gamecocks are 4-0 against ranked teams at home, 2-1 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites.

Let Us Re-Joyce
Forward Joyce Edwards is backing up a solid freshman season – just the third freshman in program history to earn First-Team All-SEC honors – with a dominating sophomore campaign. Edwards is on the watch lists for every national player of the year award and the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award Midseason Top 10.

Her team-high 20.0 points per game rank 19th in the nation (3rd in SEC), including a team-best 15 20-point outings. Her scoring has come on 59.8 percent field goal shooting, which is ninth in the nation (3rd in SEC).  She has a pair of games shooting over 90.0 percent, including a 14-of-15 (.933) outing at USF (Dec. 18), which tied for the second-highest single-game percentage in program history.

In just her 64th career game, Edwards reached 1,000 career points (vs. Miss. State, Feb. 5), becoming the fifth-fastest Gamecock to hit that mark.

Edwards is stuffing the box score beyond scoring, averaging 2.6 assists, highlighted by five outings of at least five, and upping her rebounding to 6.0 per game, including 2.6 on the offensive end to rank 15th in the SEC. She is 11th in the conference in both blocks (1.2) and steals (1.9) per game.

In SEC action, she is seventh in the league with 17.8 points per game, and her 6.2 rebounds per game are 17th.  That rebounding number includes 2.4 offensive boards per league contest to rank 13th.

She has been named SEC Player of the Week three times (Nov. 11-17, Dec. 16-22, Feb. 3-9) and was a USBWA Player of the Week twice (Dec. 16-22, Feb. 2-8).