Gamecocks-Sooners Rematch in Sweet 16 Saturday

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina is playing in its 12th-straight NCAA Sweet 16 as one of just two teams to reach at least this round every year since 2014. Its .760 winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament (57-18) ranks third in tournament history.

• South Carolina is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons in program history with their 3,138 points just behind the 2023-24 season’s record (3,247) and its 87.2 points per game on track to break that team’s program record (85.4). The Gamecocks are currently third in the nation in scoring average and fourth in field goal percentage (.509).

• Defensively, South Carolina has maintained its annual excellence, coming in sixth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.346). The Gamecocks have held their opponent under 60 points 23 times in their 36 games.

• South Carolina’s paint dominance includes ranking second in the country with 47.2 paint points per game and 17th in fewest points allowed in the paint (23.3). The Gamecocks score 54.1 percent of their points in the paint.

• All-American forward Joyce Edwards is putting together one of the most prolific scoring seasons in program history, ranking fourth in points with her 717 already the most ever by a Gamecock sophomore. Her 21 games of at least 20 points rank second behind Olympic gold medalist Shannon Johnson’s 22 in 1995-96. The most recent two of those games came last weekend when she averaged 25.0 points on 73.1 percent shooting to go with 9.0 rebounds per game.

• Junior Tessa Johnson is having a well-rounded NCAA Tournament so far, averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 47.4 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from 3-point range.

• Senior Raven Johnson’s career-best 10.0 points and 5.3 assists per game mean she has her hands on 25.5 percent of the offense. Against ranked teams, her averages rise to 11.6 points and 5.7 assists to direct 31.9 percent of the offense.

• Senior Ta’Niya Latson’s career-best efficiency this season has spiked in the NCAA Tournament with 52.2 percent shooting.

• The Gamecock bench has come alive in the postseason, averaging 22.0 points on 48.2 percent shooting. The group has accounted for 25.3 percent of the team’s scoring in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, including 28.9 percent (29.5 ppg) in the NCAA Tournament’s opening rounds.

By the Numbers
15.5 –  Freshman Agot Makeer has scored 15.5 points per NCAA Tournament game on 59.1 percent shooting.

.761 – Dawn Staley’s career .761 winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament is the fifth highest all-time.

The Oklahoma Series
The Gamecocks are 2-4 all-time against Oklahoma with a 2-2 mark in the Dawn Staley era (beginning 2008-09). This game marks the second postseason meeting between the two teams, following the 2025 SEC Tournament semifinal contest that went to the Gamecocks 93-75.

In this season’s regular-season matchup on Jan. 22 in Norman, then-No. 16/16 Oklahoma used a solid third quarter to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit and closed with a strong overtime to secure a 94-82 victory. Tessa Johnson led the Gamecock offense with 19 points.

Neutral Stance
The Gamecocks are 184-98 (.652) all-time on a neutral court. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is 101-30 in games played at neutral sites (.771), including a 64-18 (.780) mark in postseason play.

Ranked Readings
Against ranked teams, South Carolina is 144-74 (.661) 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 129-35 (.781) against ranked teams, including a 59-8 (.881) mark since the start of the 2021-22 season. The Gamecocks are 128-25 (.837) under Staley when ranked higher/better than their opponent.

This season, South Carolina is 12-3 against ranked opponents, including a 5-2 mark against top-10 foes. The Gamecocks are 5-0 against ranked teams at home, 4-1 on the road and 3-2 at neutral sites.

Fast Forward
The Gamecocks have been on the move this season, ranking second in the nation with 20.2 fast break points per game, including 15.7 vs. SEC foes and 14.0 against ranked opponents. For context, the program record of 18.0 fast break points per game was set in 2023-24, and last season’s average was 17.1.

South Carolina’s season-high of 56 fast break points against Queens (Nov. 23) were the third-most in program history. The Gamecocks are out-scoring opponents on the break by 13.0 points per game (20.2-7.2).

Glass Work
South Carolina is 11th in the nation in rebounding margin (+9.4) and 10th in rebounding average (42.3). The Gamecocks have corralled 39.2 percent of their missed shots for an offensive rebounding percentage that ranks 18th in the nation, per Her Hoop Stats. They have turned their 13.8 offensive rebounds per game into 14.6 second-chance points per game, which ranks 11th in the nation.

Senior Madina Okot is 11th in the nation with an SEC-best 10.9 rebounds per game, including 3.8 offensive boards per game, which ranks 22nd in the country.  She has seven games of 15 or more rebounds.

Sophomore Joyce Edwards is next in line at 6.4 rebounds per game, including 6.6 per league outing (13th), and that average rises to 7.6 per postseason game, including 9.0 per NCAA Tournament outing.  Senior Raven Johnson leads the guards with 3.9 rebounds per game, although Tessa Johnson has carried that mantle in postseason play with 3.8 per game over the two tournaments.