South Carolina Basketball: SEC Tournament Preview vs. Arkansas

Dawn Staley and her South Carolina basketball team finished the regular season undefeated at 29-0 and, quite frankly, were utterly dominant in the process. This dominance was on display in many ways, including the Gamecocks having an average margin of victory over 30 points per game despite playing their starters for record-low minutes.

Because of their efforts, the Gamecocks were rewarded with a double bye in the SEC Tournament. They will play on Friday against the Arkansas Razorbacks who rode a late game comeback to beat Missouri on Thursday. The game will be played at the Bon Secour Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina at 12:00 on the SECNetwork and ESPN App.

The Gamecocks played Arkansas in January. It was a home game for South Carolina, and the fans at Colonial Life Arena witnessed a 46-point beatdown.

With no disrespect intended to Arkansas, the biggest storyline of the game will be the Gamecocks’ pursuit of a perfect season and back-to-back championships. South Carolina is looking to become just the fifth school to go undefeated (UConn, Baylor, Tennessee, and Texas are the only teams to accomplish this) and the fourth to win back-to-back titles (joining UConn, Tennessee, and Southern Cal).

Prediction

For the matchup with Arkansas, the Gamecocks will win if they play within themselves. As long as they do not start feeling the pressure to be perfect, this will happen. Arkansas cannot match up with South Carolina’s talent, especially down low. The Lady Hogs totaled a paltry 17 rebounds in the January meeting between these teams while the Gamecocks pulled down an incredible 74 boards. Look for Aliyah Boston, Kamilla Cardoso, and the other bigs for South Carolina to dominate once again.

The winner of this game will play again on Saturday in ESPNU and the ESPN App.