Who: #1 South Carolina (20-0, 8-0) vs. Ole Miss (16-5, 6-2), Columbia, SC

Time/TV: 2:00 on ESPN2. This is the middle game of a triple header. Virginia Tech at UNC will be the lead in game and UCLA at Stanford will follow. Stanford was upset on Friday night by Southern Cal, do yourself a favor and check out JuJu Watkins highlights from that game

Line: SC -29.5, Total 132.5. Per FanDuel.

History: South Carolina leads 30-17 and have won 18 straight contests against the Rebels. The Gamecocks also led the series 15-5 in Columbia. USC is 19-2 against Ole Miss under Dawn Staley. The Rebels last win over Carolina came in the 2010 SEC Tournament.

Last Meeting: The last meeting in Oxford got dicey for the Gamecocks with Carolina needing an overtime period to put Ole Miss away. The two teams had a rematch in Greenville in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on March 4, 2023. That game did not get dicey as South Carolina won 80-51 behind a 17 point, six rebound, and seven assists performance from Laeticia Amihere. USC also got a double-double from Kamilla Cardoso with twelve points and twelve rebounds. Zia Cooke (14 pts), Brea Beal (13 pts), and Aliyah Boston (10 pts and 11 rebounds) also scored double figures for Carolina.

Here is a fun Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin ("Coach Yo") fact. Prior to taking the job at Ole Miss job, Coach Yo was at the helm of the Jacksonville Dolphins for five seasons. Her first season in Jacksonville she coached a senior named Jade Cargill. Cargill is now a current WWE Superstar and is married to former Atlanta Brave and Cincinnati Red, Brandon Phillips.

Speaking of Coach Yo, she has been pretty vocal about a lack of fan support in Oxford. "The Oxford community needs to catch on," McPhee-McCuin said. "The Ole Miss campus needs to catch on. There are games [elsewhere] that are sold out. The ticket for the LSU-South Carolina game was $3,000. ... It's disappointing when my team runs out here and have won a whole lot and we don't get the crowd support that we deserve." Expect her to say something in the postgame press conference about playing in front of a sellout crowd of 18,000 in Columbia on Sunday verses the normal 3-4k that Ole Miss draws at Oxford.

As for her team, Ole Miss is pretty good. They've won four-in-a-row. They've beaten Tennessee and won at Vanderbilt in that stretch. Their calling card is their defense. The Rebels average nearly eight steals a game and over six blocks a game. They are a very poor shooting team and will look to their damages in the paint. Ole Miss shoots only 24.6% from three-point range. They also average over 15 turnovers a game. As a product of their pressure defense and lack of three-point shooting, they are in a lot of close games with an average margin of victory being 10.4 points. South Carolina's average margin of victory is current over 35 points a game.

Individually, Ole Miss doesn't have a lot stat stuffers. Marquesha Davis is the team's leading scorer at 14.1 points a game. Madison Scott and Snudda Collins are the only two other Rebels averaging double-figures, with ten points a night apiece. Scott also leads the team in rebounding at nearly six a night. 6'4 fifth-year senior Rita Igbokwe will draw the Cardoso assignment inside. Igbokwe is not an every night starter for Ole Miss, but she is likely their best option against the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks can afford to lose one and maybe even two games the rest of the way and still hold onto the #1 national seed. This has been the year of the upset in women's college basketball and only the Gamecocks have been immune. Having said that, I don't see a loss left on the schedule let alone two. Carolina will have eight regular season games remaining after Sunday and possibly three in the SEC Tournament.

Feb 8: Missouri: The Tigers are 2-6 in the SEC and Carolina already beat them by 24 in COMO. This will be an easy win.

Feb 11: UConn: One would think the Huskies would have the best chance of knocking off the Gamecocks of anyone left on the schedule. UConn has played four teams ranked inside the Top 15 this season and they've lost all four games by double-digits. UConn is also dealing with a rash of injuries and has little depth. Still Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards make UConn dangerous on any given night. Expect the Gamecocks to bring their A game to this one.

Feb 15: at Tenn: If South Carolina loses a regular season game, this would be my pick although a loss here is still not likely. They will be coming off the UConn game and playing on the road against a Tennessee team with some talent. The Lady Vols best win amongst their six in the SEC was at Mississippi State. As long as the Gamecocks aren't in letdown mode from UConn, they should still role in Knoxville.

Feb 18: UGA: Georgia is the worst team in the SEC this year. Carolina will name their score.

Feb 22: Bama: The Tide are a NCAA bubble team at the moment but they've lost against the top teams in the conference. They'll lose in Columbia as well.

Feb 25: at UK: The Cats are probably the second worst team in the SEC. This is the easiest of the only three remaining road games left.

Feb 29: at Ark: A leap day showdown with the Razorbacks. Arkansas does not matchup well with the Gamecocks but they do feature super-Freshman Taliah Scott. Scott is the type of guard that bothers the Gamecocks but she won't be enough to pull the upset.

March 3: Tenn: If Tennessee is going to get the Gamecocks it will need to be in Knoxville. Carolina isn't losing at home on Senior Day.

March 6-10: South Carolina won't play until March 8th. Despite recent struggles we believe that LSU will finish second in the league and will rematch with the Gamecocks in Greenville.

The Rebels are a difficult team to beat let alone blow out. Like Auburn, they will try to grind this game out and slow the tempo. South Carolina will win, but don't expect a masterpiece. Gamecocks 77-58.