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***2020-21 #5/4 South Carolina (9-1) vs #17/16 Arkansas (11-4) Game Thread***

ConwayGamecock

ConwayGamecock

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#5/4 SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS VS #17/16 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS​



#5/4 SOUTH CAROLINA (9-1, 4-0 SEC) VS. #17/16 ARKANSAS (11-4, 2-3 SEC)
7 P.M.  |  COLUMBIA, S.C.  |  COLONIAL LIFE ARENA (3,500)

GAME DAY INFO | South Carolina Game Notes | WATCH: ESPN2 | LISTEN: 107.5 The Game | Live Stats | Media Availability

ABOUT THIS GAME

  • South Carolina holds a 21-18 edge in the all-time series against Arkansas and has won 13 of the last 14 meetings, including three wins in 2019-20 by an average of 18.7 points.
  • This is the Gamecocks' fifth game against a top-25 opponent this season with a 3-1 record.
  • The Gamecocks will wear special warm-up shirts to celebrate We Back Pat Week in the SEC. This season marks the 10th anniversary of the week-long celebration of the late Pat Summitt, which helps to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's.
  • In honor of the dedication of the A'ja Wilson statue in front of Colonial Life Arena today, South Carolina will celebrate the most decorated player in program history with video tributes throughout the game.


 
https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2021/1/17/womens-basketball-top-20-battle-set-for-monday-night-at-colonial-life-arena.aspx

 
In big WBB news, #1 ranked Stanford suffers their first loss of the season against conference foe Colorado in Boulder, CO 77-72. Colorado came into the game 4-6, 3-5 in Pac-12 play. It SHOULD drop Stanford below USC, and allow the Gamecocks to move up a spot, but it wouldn't surprise me if they stay ranked in the top 4. The Gamecocks' lone loss came against then-8th ranked NC State....

 
Arkansas will be a challenging opponent for the Gamecocks. Much like Kentucky with Rhyne Howard, the Razorbacks have a top scorer in the SEC in Chelsea Dungee, who currently leads the SEC with 21.4 ppg just ahead of Howard's 20.4 ppg. Likewise, Arkansas as a team leads the SEC in Scoring Offense, averaging 86.5 ppg which is good for 7th nationally. South Carolina is 2nd in the conference in that statistic, and 13th in the nation, averaging 84.4 ppg. 

The Gamecocks however have played a tougher overall schedule, ranking #1 nationally in RPI and ranking 3rd in NET. They have played the current #2 ranked strength of schedule that really is #1 overall - it's only 2nd right now to Loyola Maryland because the Greyhounds have only played 2 games thus far due to covid-19 interruptions, and both of those games were to the same team - 6-0 Bucknell who is a Tier 1 RPI and NET opponent, so that totally skews the equation for Loyola Maryland. Once they play 2-3-4 more games though, they will settle down further into the rankings. But that's another story....

Arkansas has the 37th-ranked RPI and 28th ranked NET. They played the 157th-ranked non-conference SOS, which explains them coming into SEC play 9-1 with their only loss to a top-10 ranked Maryland. They do boast of a solid win over top-10 ranked Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, but their other opponents were not very strong.

They've since gone 2-3 in conference play, and have allowed 405 points in those 5 games for a scoring defense average of 81.0 ppg allowed, which is not good, and ranks them 13th in the SEC and 277th in the nation, ahead of only Vanderbilt. Offensively they are strong, but most defensive statistics they are pretty poor: 13th in SEC in Scoring Defense, 12th in FG % Defense, 13th in Blocks per Game, 13th in Rebounds per Game. They do not turn the ball over much and do not commit fouls often. They are an excellent 3-pt FG shooting team, leading the SEC in shots per game and are 3rd in 3-pt FG %.

Over all, both teams are solid to great offensive teams, but South Carolina is far the better defensive team, and this should be where the teams separate, much like how it did when we played Kentucky - that game was a close 75-70 win for us in Lexington, but remember Boston was in foul trouble in the 1st half and she and Cooke did not contribute in the 1st half much at all. In the 2nd half, we out-scored UK 43-19 and dominated the boards 27-14. If the key players can stay out of early foul trouble I expect the game to be more along how the 2nd half of that game was.....

 
ConwayGamecock said:
Arkansas will be a challenging opponent for the Gamecocks. Much like Kentucky with Rhyne Howard, the Razorbacks have a top scorer in the SEC in Chelsea Dungee, who currently leads the SEC with 21.4 ppg just ahead of Howard's 20.4 ppg. Likewise, Arkansas as a team leads the SEC in Scoring Offense, averaging 86.5 ppg which is good for 7th nationally. South Carolina is 2nd in the conference in that statistic, and 13th in the nation, averaging 84.4 ppg. 

The Gamecocks however have played a tougher overall schedule, ranking #1 nationally in RPI and ranking 3rd in NET. They have played the current #2 ranked strength of schedule that really is #1 overall - it's only 2nd right now to Loyola Maryland because the Greyhounds have only played 2 games thus far due to covid-19 interruptions, and both of those games were to the same team - 6-0 Bucknell who is a Tier 1 RPI and NET opponent, so that totally skews the equation for Loyola Maryland. Once they play 2-3-4 more games though, they will settle down further into the rankings. But that's another story....

Arkansas has the 37th-ranked RPI and 28th ranked NET. They played the 157th-ranked non-conference SOS, which explains them coming into SEC play 9-1 with their only loss to a top-10 ranked Maryland. They do boast of a solid win over top-10 ranked Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, but their other opponents were not very strong.

They've since gone 2-3 in conference play, and have allowed 405 points in those 5 games for a scoring defense average of 81.0 ppg allowed, which is not good, and ranks them 13th in the SEC and 277th in the nation, ahead of only Vanderbilt. Offensively they are strong, but most defensive statistics they are pretty poor: 13th in SEC in Scoring Defense, 12th in FG % Defense, 13th in Blocks per Game, 13th in Rebounds per Game. They do not turn the ball over much and do not commit fouls often. They are an excellent 3-pt FG shooting team, leading the SEC in shots per game and are 3rd in 3-pt FG %.

Over all, both teams are solid to great offensive teams, but South Carolina is far the better defensive team, and this should be where the teams separate, much like how it did when we played Kentucky - that game was a close 75-70 win for us in Lexington, but remember Boston was in foul trouble in the 1st half and she and Cooke did not contribute in the 1st half much at all. In the 2nd half, we out-scored UK 43-19 and dominated the boards 27-14. If the key players can stay out of early foul trouble I expect the game to be more along how the 2nd half of that game was.....
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GO COCKS GIVE EM HELL

 
I'm excited for this game. I agree that our defense will be the difference. I expect a big game from Saxton, Boston and Amihere. I bet our offensive strategy will be to feed the bigs.

Before the season, I really thought that Arkansas was going to be the #2 team in the SEC. It hasn't quite panned out as I expected but they are still a very dangerous team who can take us down if we don't bring our "A" game.

 
Also, another random prediction for the season: Destanni Henderson will have a triple double before the season is over. She has been close on a couple of occasions. The past few games she has bee averaging like 12 pts, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. One of these days I think she'll have an exceptional game that bumps those numbers into triple-double territory!

 
I think we're okay, but I am still concerned about our mental toughness when we run up against a team who outmuscles us in the paint.  I don't think we've filled the void in that area left by Ty's absence yet.

 
USCMM said:
I'm excited for this game. I agree that our defense will be the difference. I expect a big game from Saxton, Boston and Amihere. I bet our offensive strategy will be to feed the bigs.

Before the season, I really thought that Arkansas was going to be the #2 team in the SEC. It hasn't quite panned out as I expected but they are still a very dangerous team who can take us down if we don't bring our "A" game.
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If Amihere has to put the ball on the floor more than 2 times she's in trouble.  Her hands are apparently made of concrete.   But yeah, I expect us to feed it inside.

 
Gamecocks jump out to a 10-pt 17-7 lead, then squander it away to 19-17, before surging ahead again to lead 25-17 at the end of the 1st Quarter. Aliyah Boston romped in the 1st Period, with 6 pts, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks in just 8 minutes of play. But Brea Beal again is having a great 1st half with a team-leading 7 pts, off of the strength of two 3-pt makes....

 
Gamecocks scuffle a bit in the 2nd Quarter, but still lead 42-37 into the half. There were too many turnovers for the team, who totaled 10 for the 1st half. That will need to be corrected.

Aliyah Boston still had a monster 1st half, with 11 pts, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Destanni Henderson and Beal added 9 pts each.....

 
Gamecocks lead 71-61 after three quarters of play. Boston and Beal leading the way for the Gamecocks, with 20 and 18 pts respectively - Beal recording her 2nd straight career high for points in as many games, and there's still another quarter to play. Dungee leads the Razorbacks with 20 pts....

 
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Ace Dilcock said:
I think that I said that Beal needed needed to get more involved on the Offense for us to click - and she has tonight. Even with Cooke off a little and Lele having one of those nights, we are still taking control.
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True story! I've been impressed with Beal's progression this season.

 
Gamecocks win in big fashion over Arkansas 104-82 to improve to 10-1, 5-0. Aliyah Boston once again does what she does - have a monster game with 26 pts, 16 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Brea Beal records a new career game high for the 2nd consecutive game, with 22 pts and 4 rebounds. Henderson shows Boston she's not the only one who can put up double-doubles, with 14 pts and a career high 10 assists. Victaria Saxton added 10 pts and 4 boards.

The Gamecocks were 40-74 (54.1%) overall, 8-15 (53.3%) from the three, and 16-22 (72.7%) from the charity line. What impressed me was both Beal and Lele Grissett were a combined 8-10 from the line tonight: both were shooting horribly at the line with sub-40% averages thus far this season, until tonight.

The Gamecocks next prepare for their 2nd home game with #22 Georgia coming to Columbia this Thursday at 6:30 PM....

 
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This, was an good win for them,  the Razor Backs could fill it up quick, I especially like it when the Gamecocks got out and ran the floor, it just looks like we we're so much quicker . They turned it on at the right times I think should at least be # 3 in the country right now.

 
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