#1 South Carolina hosts #21 Kentucky Sunday afternoon.

1. Who’s available?

Dawn Staley said she expects to have the same players she had against LSU. That means no Laeticia Amihere, Kamilla Cardoso, or Olivia Thompson.

2. Roster Turmoil

Assuming those three are the only three out Sunday, it will be something very unusual for South Carolina: consecutive games with the same dress roster.

South Carolina has lost 38 player games to injury or health and safety protocols this season. It has been a different roster almost every game. South Carolina had the same roster for five consecutive games behind in the Bahamas, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that was also the best stretch of the season. South Carolina also dressed the same group in consecutive games against Maryland and Duke, but that was without Destanni Henderson. South Carolina dressed the same group against NC State and South Dakota, but saw Raven Johnson go down with a season-ending injury against the Coyotes.

“Everybody’s adjusting,” Staley said. “We started adjusting the second game of the season when Raven went down. We’re a team that’s pivoted plenty of times this season, It’s not a crutch, next woman up. It is how we’ve handled this whole year.”

The constant change seems to be taking a toll. Outside of Aliyah Boston, every player has to adapt each game as her role is tweaked to accommodate missing players.

3. Bench production

South Carolina, which for years has had one of the highest-scoring bench units in the country, mustered just one (1) point against LSU. It was the product of a number of factors - Amihere and Cardoso missing, players out of position, LSU’s defense, inexperience, and a tight game that meant relying on starters - but it is still an issue.

With the talented freshman class South Carolina was supposed to have enough depth to withstand anything, but that idea is being severely tested. The freshmen were expected to have small, clearly defined roles based on what they do best. Instead, they have been asked to play more minutes and do more things. And it hasn’t gone as well as hoped.

Saniya Rivers has missed six games for a variety of reasons, and the nation’s leading scorer as a high school senior has struggled to put the ball in the basket. Bree Hall has been good in spurts on defense, but offensively she gets lost. Sania Feagin has mostly played in blowouts and has flashed potential, but she hasn’t done it in spot work in the first half.

Staley wants to get back to the basics for the freshmen, back to the original plan before the season.

“They’re growing even though they’re not playing a whole lot of minutes. That has to take place,” Staley said. “What we’re going to do from here on out is shrink their package. Here are the plays, you’re not going to (have) our whole playbook. Get comfortable with these sets, and then hold serve from a defensive standpoint.”

4. Rebounding

Stanford was the first team in 44 games to outrebound South Carolina, and since that game South Carolina has gotten right back to controlling the glass. South Carolina outrebounded LSU, a team that entered the game plus-11 on the glass, 48-24. For the season, South Carolina leads the nation at plus-16.8.

Kentucky could be in for a long game. The Wildcats average 36.4 rebounds per game and have a margin of just plus-1.6. Kentucky was outrebounded in losses to Indiana (minus-10) and DePaul (minus-16), although Kentucky was even in a loss to Louisville, but minus-14 in the win over Georgia. Not only does that weakness play into one of South Carolina’s strengths, it’s a point of emphasis for the Gamecocks.

“At the rate that we’re rebounding the basketball we need shots at the basket,” Staley said. “If we can get ten of them, we’re going to get five offensive rebounds. Sometimes our players don’t understand that.”

5. Scouting the Wildcats

Kentucky has been impacted by COVID, with three of the last five games postponed, but as it has been for four seasons, any discussion of Kentucky has to begin with Rhyne Howard. Howard is averaging 19.7 points on 47.5% shooting, plus 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 steals. Kentucky has struggled to mesh Howard’s individual greatness with her teammates’ talents in the past, but is doing a better job this season, The fear is being on the other end when Howard gets hot, like she did on the way to 30 points in the upset of #15 Georgia on Thursday, but you can’t ignore everyone around her.

“We’ve got to make sure everybody else isn’t doing what they’re capable of doing,” Staley said. “Yes, pay heavy attention to Rhyne, but let’s not lose sight of all those other players that are contributing. They looked pretty good against Georgia and the moment you take your eye off one of them she can hurt you.”

South Carolina has generally done a good job of slowing down and frustrating Howard, beginning with making her work on defense. She had 32 against the Gamecocks last season in Lexington, but wore down and was just 2-7 in the fourth quarter of the Gamecocks’ come-from-behind win. Six weeks later she had just 12 points on 2-11 shooting and was a total non-factor in a 6-55 loss in Columbia. And there was the 2020 game when Howard scored 28, but had as many turnovers as points in the first half and did most of her damage once the WIldcats were down 40.

The tag team of Brea Beal and LeLe Grissett does most of the work against Howard, and Beal has made her name as a defensive stopper by harassing Howard. Staley likes to keep a fresh defender on Howard, which means Hall and Eniya Russell could also get looks.

Kentucky has assembled a talented roster around Howard. Dre’una Edwards is averaging 17.4 points and 8.7 rebounds, and she’ll be matched up with Boston. Guards Robyn Benton and Jada Walker are averaging in double figures scoring, and Jazmine Massengill is averaging just under five assists a game.

And one: Aliyah Boston POY Watch

Boston has eight consecutive double-doubles. During that stretch she is averaging 19.4 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 1.5 assists, and just 1.1 turnovers. She is shooting 58.3% from the floor and 42.9% from three.

Her player of the year reel should start with this play:

At this point in the season, I think the likelihood Boston wins National Player of the Year is greater than the likelihood she wins SEC Player of the Year (although she is likely to win both). There’s been a tendency for the voting to be slow to change, and Rhyne Howard is the two-time defending SEC Player of the Year. Howard’s numbers are down a little this season, but as noted above she is doing a better job distributing the ball and is still more than capable of exploding for big games.

The Ws

Who: #1 South Carolina (14-1, 2-1) vs #21 Kentucky (8-3, 1-0)

When: 1:00 pm, Sunday, January 9

Where: Colonial Life Arena

Watch: ESPN

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