Who: #1 South Carolina (18-0, 6-0) vs Vanderbilt (17-3, 4-2) Columbia, SC

Time/TV: 3:00 on SEC Network. Don’t expect any viewerships records going opposite the AFC Championship Game.

Line: SC -32.5 Total 136.5

History: The series is tied at 21 but the Gamecocks have won 15-in-a-row. South Carolina is 16-2 against the Commodores under Dawn Staley. Carolina is 12-8 all-time against Vanderbilt in Columbia and 8-2 under Staley. The Gamecocks have won those eight games by an average margin of 26.8 points.

Last Meeting: January 19, 2023, Nashville. Carolina doubled up Vandy 96-48. As the score suggests, it was an utter domination. Aliyah Boston had 16 points and ten rebounds. Zia Cooke had 17 points and Kamilla Cardoso turned in a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. The Gamecocks shot 61.9 percent for the game, including 75.0 percent in the third quarter despite finishing the game only 2-8 from three-point range.

Let's start by giving credit where credit is due. If not for Dawn Staley's Gamecocks being undefeated after replacing one of the greatest starting lineups in NCAA history, Vandy Coach Shae Ralph would have the SEC Coach of the Year, and maybe national coach of the year, wrapped up. Ralph went 28-38 overall and 7-25 in the SEC during her first two seasons. Unlike Kim Mulkey at LSU, Ralph can't woo transfer portal free agents to Vanderbilt with large NIL deals. Ralph is building her program the way Dawn Staley and her mentor and former head coach Geno Auriemma built theirs. Ralph's Commodores play a style similar to UConn. Ralph played for the Huskies' 2000 NCAA Championship team and was an assistant under Auriemma in Stores from 2008-2021.

Vanderbilt is a guard oriented team with the homegrown 5'9 senior Jordyn Cambridge running the show. Cambridge averages 14.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and is third in the nation averaging four steals per game. She is an All-SEC caliber guard. I feel completely comfortable saying she is the best point guard South Carolina will have seen in the last four days. Cambridge's top running mates are 6'2 wing Sacha Washington (12.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds) and fellow guard Iyana Moore (12.6 pts per game). Last season Vanderbilt lacked size, they still aren't one of the conference's bigger teams but they did add a big body in Justine Pissott from just down the road in Knoxville. The Tennessee transfer is 6'4 combo guard/forward. Regardless of new additions, don't expect South Carolina to be challenged on the glass today.

Vanderbilt was picked to finish dead last by the SEC Media this season and here they are sitting at 17-3 and 4-2 in the league. Sound familiar? Ralph and Lamont Paris' programs are dripping with similarities. Both are easy to root for when they aren't playing your school. Vanderbilt is currently projected as a 10 seed (last four byes) by Charlie Creme. Vandy is currently 53rd in the NET Rankings.

Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks currently have several unbelievable streaks going. Carolina has won 28-straight road games and 50-straight home games. They haven't lost an SEC regular season in their last 37 contests. Carolina has won their last 62 regular season contests. Looking at the remaining schedule there aren't many landmines left. The Gamecocks play at Auburn next week, Auburn has already beaten LSU at home. February 11th's contest with UConn looked like it could have been a tight one, then the country saw Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame run the short-handed Huskies out of their own building last night. Geno has not made good use of the transfer portal and injuries have knocked out three of his best seven players. The Huskies make LSU's roster look deep. Four days after the UConn visit, the Gamecocks head to Knoxville. The Vols have some talent but they've been underwhelming most of the season. The Gamecocks are likely to be at least 15-point favorites in every game until a possible SEC Tournament rematch with LSU. That game would be contested in Greenville, where the Gamecocks have lost just tournament game.

South Carolina posted the program’s 1,000th win in style with its 76-70 win over LSU in front of a sold out crowd at the Tigers’ Pete Maravich Center and an ESPN audience that reached 1.55 million to be the night’s most watched sporting event on television, eclipsing that night’s NBA game of the Boston Celtics vs. the Miami Heat. It was the third highest rated regular season game since 2007.

Game Notes: Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Campus CommUNITY Pantry.The teams will be celebrating the SEC’s We Back Pat week, wearing special warmup shirts for the game, which honors legendary Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Pat Summitt.

With lesser teams you’d worry about the let down game, not with this group. Gamecocks don’t have their A game, still cruise 85-57.