Tiebreakers, coin flips, none of it is really of concern to Dawn Staley.

With two games left in the regular season, South Carolina women’s basketball still controls its own destiny for an SEC regular season title. If the Gamecocks win at Ole Miss on Thursday night and defeat Kentucky on Sunday at home, they will claim their ninth regular season title of the Staley era.

“Just win,” Staley said when asked what she wants to see this week. “At this stage of the game, it’s just about winning.”

As for what could happen after that, everything is still up in the air. If South Carolina and Texas both win out, the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament will come down to a coin flip from the league office. From there, the coin will determine match-ups in Greenville, the path to a tournament title and the start times next weekend.

But no matter what happens with South Carolina’s final placement in the conference tournament, all eyes are still on the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks have responded well from the loss to UConn so far, winning both games last week in dominant fashion.

But in the grand scheme of the season, right now is the time to ramp up to your best play. March starts on the calendar this Saturday, and the postseason will start next Friday for the Gamecocks regardless of match-up. These two games this week both have significant implications towards hanging another regular season title banner at Colonial Life Arena.

“We need to play our best basketball now,” Staley said. “It can’t wait until after Selection Sunday, it can’t wait until you’re in the finals of the SEC championship, it’s right now.”

If the 29-point loss to UConn was that rock bottom moment for this team, the recovery has been steady. After handling SEC bottom-feeders Arkansas with a 40-point victory, the Gamecocks showed up to a tricky road game at Vanderbilt with an impressive performance Sunday. MiLaysia Fulwiley tied her career-high in scoring with 24 points, Joyce Edwards had a personal 10-0 run and once again, South Carolina got a little bit closer to its identity with 40 minutes of basketball that resembled January’s dominant outings.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction as far as everyone playing great at the right time,” Staley said. “It takes some losses for you to feel that, some losses for you to correct some things and to get some other players to elevate their play. And we’re seeing that.”

Up next will be another test of that, particularly on the offensive end. Ole Miss is currently second in the SEC in defense, allowing just 55.8 points per game. Ole Miss is also second in the league in terms of allowing the fewest rebounds, second in turnover margin and third in assist to turnover ratio.

Arkansas was the bounceback game against a vastly inferior opponent. Vanderbilt was the offense flexing its muscle. This one figures to be a rock fight, with two physical defenses getting after it.

“Ugly wins count just as much as the pretty ones,” Staley said. “We’ve just got to bear down.”

Not only would a March win be another sign of those positive March trends, it would move the Gamecocks to the brink of another conference championship.

Tip-off in Oxford is set for 9 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPN.

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