Who: #1 South Carolina (17-0, 5-0) vs. Missouri (14-4, 3-2)

Time/TV: 1:00 on ESPN

Line: Best guess SC -20.5. Total: 131.5

History: SC leads 8-4 overall and 5-0 in the CLA. The Gamecocks have won 4 of the last 5 meetings. Carolina is 7-4 against Mizzou under Dawn Staley. Missouri has been one of South Carolina's toughest SEC opponents under Staley. Two of the last three Missouri wins in the series came in seasons where South Carolina won the National Championship.

Last Meeting: December 30, 2021. Missouri 70-69 in OT in Columbia, Missouri. Lauren Hansen laid in the game-winning layup with one-tenth of a second left in overtime to push the Tigers over the Gamecocks. Missouri held South Carolina scoreless over the final 3:34 of the extra session, securing victory by scoring the final six points of the contest. The Gamecocks would lose only once more in the finals of the SEC Tournament.

Like most South Carolina opponents, Missouri can't match the Gamecocks in size or speed. Then again, they couldn't last season either. If you are a fan of the 1990's Utah Jazz you will like Missouri's team, like Stockton and Malone, they love the pick and roll. Unlike the Jazz though, the Tigers offensive is almost exclusively run through their guards. They have a trio of senior guards that Gamecock fans should be familiar with, Hayley Frank, Haley Troup, and Lauren Hansen. Frank is a listed as a forward but she plays like a guard.

Frank and Hansen are averaging over 14 points a game and Troup in averaging 9.2. Both Frank and Hansen can hit the three and aren't shy with the basketball. The duo has attempted 221 shots from behind the arc. As a team, the Tigers shoot 35% from the three. Frank is turnover prone and frequently finds herself in foul trouble.

SEC play has shown a clear blueprint for how teams are going to play the Gamecocks. Opponents have packed the lane and forced the Gamecocks to make outside jump shots without running the offense through Aliyah Boston. “They are going to pack it in on us on defense. Then they are going to pick us apart when they are on offense. They are going to be real patient and intentional, calculating, about what they want.” said Staley.

Missouri's NET ranking is 53, placing the Tigers squarely on the NCAA bubble. In their last two games, they've lost by 20 and 22 to Arkansas and LSU. Both loses were at home.

Revenge week continues. South Carolina pulled away from Kentucky in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's game. Now Carolina gets a chance to knock off Missouri, the team that handed the Gamecocks their only other loss in 2021-2022.

The point guard rotation has been an ongoing storyline this season, but as Raven Johnson continues to gain her confidence after season-ending knee injury last season, it is becoming clear that Johnson is going to follow Tyasha Harris and Destini Henderson in the line of great Gamecock point guards. Johnson has logged more minutes off the bench than starter Kierra Fletcher in two of the last three games. In those last three games Johnson has 16 assists and four turnovers.

South Carolina has gotten into a bad habit of slow road starts. That hasn't been the case at home where they've yet to be tested outside of 9-point win against UCLA. Carolina has won by 42 and 52 in their two conference home games.

Sania Feagin has been ruled out for the second straight game after missing the Kentucky. Carolina expects her back next week.