South Carolina gets a rematch against Tennessee Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

1. A Mighty Wind

The atmosphere at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is obviously different for this year’s SEC tournament than past years, but apparently that includes the air, too. Noted climatologist Zia Cooke brought it up first.

“Also the wind, we were tired out there,” Cooke said. “The air here is, like, crazy.”

She quickly moved on. So Dawn Staley was asked about the wind.

“No, I don't want to start anything,” Staley said. “All these people on social media say I have all these excuses for this or that. It's the players getting their feet wet. They adjusted and we won the basketball game. I don't even want to get these people started in my mentions.”

Media aren’t allowed near the court this year due to social distancing requirements, so nobody has any idea what they are talking about. The arena layout is slightly different this year: the entire upper bowl is open, instead portions being curtained off. And of course the bowl is mostly empty instead of being filled with fans. Is the air actually different? Is it just allergy season? Are they just messing with everyone? Who knows...

2. Stay engaged

Consistency has been an issue for the Gamecocks this season. They have been plagued by slow stretches, whether the product of poor execution, poor shooting, or just lapses in focus. There was a clear lapse late in the first half Friday that allowed Alabama back in the game, a 14-3 run that saw the Gamecocks go nearly five minutes without a field goal.

The biggest problem during that stretch, Staley said, was missed layups. But that doesn’t excuse the lackluster defense, and South Carolina allowed Alabama to hang around until midway through the fourth quarter.

The last five minutes of the game, after Alabama cut South Carolina’s lead to seven, was encouraging. Destanni Henderson’s three-pointer after an offensive rebound, and Cooke’s transition layup that followed changed the momentum. And South Carolina was crashing the glass, diving for loose balls, and making hustle plays. It wasn’t ideal, but it was encouraging for a team that got out-hustled against Texas A&M.

“We have to just stay engaged,” Staley said. “This time of the season, we want to stay locked in for 40 minutes. That is our plan from the beginning of the game until the end of the game. You know, what happens in between, it's a hard-fought game. At this point, again, we just have to figure out how do we make more plays than the other team.”

3. Ball movement

Staley said it was good to see the offense bail out the defense for a change. It was far from a perfect offensive game - the last five minutes of the second quarter and much of the third quarter saw the same stagnant offense that Staley has been trying to get away from. But there was plenty to be encouraged about. The big three - Zia Cooke, Destanni Henderson, and Aliyah Boston - combined for 56 points. Even better, they shot 22-39 (56%).

That was enough to win, and is enough to win most nights, but Staley wants more from the supporting cast. Vector Saxton and LeLe Grissett each had six points on 3-8 shooting, and Brea Beal had just two points on 1-4 shooting, missing all three of her threes. It was a subpar showing for all three individually, and put together it made a difference. If Beal hits one of those open threes, or Saxton and Grissett make a couple more layups,

“What I do like about what our team did was the ball movement,” Staley said. “If we can continue to move the ball as well as we moved the ball, especially with Henny and Zia and Aliyah, those three are able to do that, then we bring another player or two, get them close to double figures, that's as even as we can be. A lot of teams aren't putting five people on the floor that can score the ball.”

Cooke led the Gamecocks with 22 points, but her most important play might have been the pass to Henderson for the fourth-quarter three-pointer.

“It's just better when everyone eats,” Cooke said. “That's something we're trying to continue to do, move the ball, make sure everyone is happy, and of course get the dub.”

4. The Boston Balance

On South Carolina’s first three offensive possessions the Gamecocks got the ball to Aliyah Boston in the low post. The results were a missed open three Beal, a three-point play by Boston, and a three by Henderson. It was everything good that happens when the offense runs through Boston. She creates for herself, for others, and she gets opponents in foul trouble.

In the third quarter, South Carolina’s offense stalled for long stretches. Players passed the ball around the perimeter, waiting on Boston to get open, and nobody made a move. It was everything wrong when the offense run through Boston and stifles the Gamecocks’ speed and athleticism.

Obviously it’s cheating to judge solely off the results, when deciding if the offense was good or bad. Everything looks good when the ball goes through the net. But it does illustrate the balancing act that South Carolina hasn’t quite figured out this season.

The offense is absolutely better when Boston is involved. She does so many things that don’t show up in the box score. But there are times when she isn’t open, and the Gamecocks waste most of the shot clock waiting for her to get open (especially when they reverse the ball and cancel out her efforts).

If solving the problem were as easy as identifying it, South Carolina would have solved it already.

5. Scouting the Lady Vols

Whoever won Friday’s nightcap - Ole Miss or Tennessee - was going to be a tired, banged up team Saturday. The game was extremely physical, with both teams using a full court press for long stretches of the game. Tennessee had a couple of players miss time with minor injuries, and the game didn’t end until close to 11:00 pm. That gives the Lady Vols about 18 hours to recuperate.

That’s the good news for South Carolina. The bad news is that Tennessee still has Rennia Davis and Rae Burrell. Davis had 33 points and 14 rebounds, while Burrell chipped in 18. Tennessee was plus-20 rebounding, limited Shakira Austin to 14 points, and shot 70% from three.

So why was the game so close? Tennessee turned the ball over 23 times and shot just 41% overall.

South Carolina and Tennessee have each outrebounded every opponent this season except one - when they each had 40 rebounds against each other. Consider this the tiebreaker.

Staley played some unusual lineups in that first game, especially in the second half when Tennessee first came back, and then pulled away. Boston was uninvolved for long stretches during that game, and South Carolina struggled to get her the ball in the low post. It will be interesting to see how she rotates this time and if Staley has any tricks to counter how the Lady Vols effectively defended Boston.

The Ws

Who: #2 South Carolina vs

When: Saturday, March 6, 25 minutes after Texas A&M-Georgia (approximately 6:30 pm)

Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC

Watch: ESPNU