WBB: Texas A&M Preview

History: Carolina leads the series 10-4 with all of the games being played in the Dawn Staley Era. USC leads the series 4-2 in College Station and have won four of the last five games contested on the Aggies home floor. The Gamecocks have also won 10 of 11 in the series overall.

Last Meeting: December 29, 2022, Carolina 76-34 in Columbia. The Gamecock smothered the Aggies from the opening tip racing to a 24-6 first quarter advantage. Carolina did the same to open the second half outscoring A&M 19-3 in the third quarter. Staley was able to play her bench for extended minutes in this contest. Carolina's leading scorer was current Tennessee reserve Talaysia Cooper with 15 points. Aliyah Boston played only 19 minutes. Zia Cooke with 14 points and Sania Feagin with 11 points also scored in double figures. Carolina held A&M to 23% from the field and 3-22 (13.6%) from three.

Scouting the Aggies

Why is an Arizona player on the front page for this article? Because her name is Lauren Ware and she now plays for Texas A&M. Joni Taylor, now in her second season at TAMU, reworked her roster in the offseason through the transfer portal. Ware is a former five star recruit that played in the 2021 National Championship game at Arizona. The 6'5 forward is now averaging 10.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 2.2 bpg. Mitchell also added 2022-2023 Second Team All-SEC selection Aicha Coulibaly from Auburn. The former Tiger guard is A&M's leading scorer at 12.4 points a night. She also leads the team in steals with 2.2 a game. Both Ware and Coulibaly were on Dawn Staley's radar last offseason but there wasn't much traction between the players and the Gamecock coaching staff. A&M also added Te-Hina Paopao's former Oregon teammate, guard Endyia Rogers. The fifth-year senior is averaging 12.3 points a game and is the Aggies best long range threat at 33.7%. A&M is not a good three-point or foul shooting team, shooting only 26.8% and 65.2 percent respectively.

A&M's roster wasn't entirely crafted through the portal. They returned both Janiah Barker and Sydney Bowles, both were All-SEC Freshman selections last season. Barker is averaging a solid 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds. She was the nation's third ranked prospect in the 2022 class. We're surprised that Taylor was able to keep Bowles in College Station after bringing guards Coulibaly and Rogers in from the portal. Bowles has seen her minutes cut in half from her freshman season and is averaging less than half of her point total from a year ago. Bowles has scored only 12 total points in the Aggies' four SEC games.

As a team, the first stat that jumps off the page for the Aggies is their rebounding. They ranked third in the country with 47.29 total rebounds, (Carolina is first at 49.06). The Aggies are 11th nationally in offensive rebounds averaging 16.2 a game. Texas A&M is as good defensively as they are on the glass. The Aggies are third nationally in scoring defense holding teams to just 32.7% from the field, (Carolina is also first here at 29.3%). They also rank fourth nationally in scoring defense allowing opponents only 51.5 ppg. (The Gamecock are third at 51.4 ppg).

The Aggies are sitting at 27th in the NET and currently projected as a 7th seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN. A&M is undefeated at home this season at 12-0. No opponent has come within 11 points of winning in College Station. A&M has won their two SEC home games over Auburn by 22 and Tennessee by 15.

For the Gamecocks

Everyone knows who is lurking next on the schedule, it has been one of the most anticipated matchups in the country since the date was announced. South Carolina can't find itself looking ahead to Thursday night's showdown in Baton Rouge because Texas A&M is one of the three-four most talented rosters in the SEC. Gamecock teams in years past have never seemed to struggle with looking ahead to a big matchup, but the threat always looms especially when the current game is on the road against a good team.

South Carolina has let teams hang around longer than they should have because Carolina has been failing to convert five foot and under shots and allowing more offense rebounds than what Gamecocks fans are accustomed to seeing under Staley. That can hurt them against good rebounding teams like A&M and LSU.

If South Carolina had Te-Hina Paopao last season they would have gone down as one of the all-time great college teams, up there with UConn and Tennessee's best teams. Several other high profile transfers got more publicity in the offseason, but no one is effecting a game like Paopao. She leads in the country in three point percentage at 56.76 percent. Carolina leads the nation in three-point shooting at 43.6 percent. Teams aren't able to sag off the perimeter and defend only 15-feet and in from the basket anymore.

Prediction

A&M has been tough at home all year. I don't expect this to be a game where the fourth quarter is played by the end of the bench nor do I think the Gamecocks will fall victim to looking ahead to Thursday. Expect this contest to resemble the UNC and Duke road wins from December. Gamecocks 74-63.