Thursday evening presents the possible game of the season, when No. 1 and undefeated South Carolina (17-0, 5-0) heads to Baton Rouge to meet No. 9 and defending national champion LSU (18-2, 5-1) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Entering the 2023-24 season, it was expected that the Lady Tigers, boosted by the highest-rated recruiting and transfer classes, would romp through the regular season, the closest thing to a collegiate super team. Instead, the Gamecocks are the nation’s premier team, looking not only like the best team in the country but also the best of the Dawn Staley era.
Staley seemingly has infused her squad with a special elixir that has encouraged the relatively-inexperienced Gamecocks to quickly cohere into a disciplined, dominant team without weakness. In contrast, despite any mystical powers possibly possessed by Kim Mulkey’s bejeweled blazers, the Lady Tigers have yet to jell into a whole that is greater than the sum of their parts, with stretches of excellence too often interrupted by uneven play.
That said, LSU, when at their best, profiles as the type of team that could take down South Carolina, as the Lady Tigers have the athleticism and skill required to compete with the Gamecocks for four quarters.
Can o-boards, free throws lead LSU to the upset?
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