South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley has led her team to unforeseen heights so far in the 2023-2024 season. In what was expected to be a "rebuilding year" by many in the national media, the Gamecocks have overcome their loss of five players to the WNBA Draft to return to the top spot in the rankings.
The Gamecocks have been the country's top performing team on both offense and defense as the season has reached its halfway point, and there seems to be room for even more in-season growth as most of the team's roster is in its first or second year with USC. Senior Kamilla Cardoso and junior Bree Hall are the most experienced players on the team, but the younger players and transfer Te-Hina Paopao have integrated nicely.
Last season's national championship-winning LSU team (who was dominated by Dawn Staley's squad in their only meeting last year) has two losses but remains one of the country's top units. With the Tigers' huge efforts in the transfer portal this past offseason, they were viewed as the heavy favorites to win the title again after the 2023-2024 campaign.
Naturally, the Tigers and Gamecocks have seemed set on a collision course for the SEC title, so fans have been looking forward to their regular season meeting. Now, something a little extra has been added to that contest.
Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Flau-jae Johnson, and Hailey Van Lith surely will feed on what will be a raucous crowd. The Gamecocks have played road games in hostile environments already this season (North Carolina, Duke, Florida, and Missouri), but none of those teams have the elite talent that the Bayou Bengals have on their roster.
The game will also feature a matchup between two of the best coaches in the country as Dawn Staley matches wits with Kim Mulkey.
The Gamecocks and Tigers will play at 8:00 on Thursday, February 25th on ESPN.