NCAAW: SEC’s ranked titans seek statement wins, including S. Carolina

Almost all of the eyes of women’s college basketball world, once again, will be on the SEC.

The conference’s customary Thursday slate is stacked, with seven of nine ranked teams in action across six games. That includes still-undefeated No. 5 Vanderbilt, with the Commodores, after barely surviving against No. 7 Michigan on Monday at the Coretta Scott King Classic, hosting Auburn (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN+).

Vandy, which also was in fight with Mississippi State last Thursday, will hope to advance to 20-0 with a more comfortable win. Mikayla Blakes will also be aiming to rediscover her usual scoring form, as the nation’s second-leading scorer was held to 14 points on 14 shots by the Wolverines.

No. 6 LSU has an opportunity to build on their positive momentum, following up their big win at No. 16 Oklahoma by dispatching Texas A&M in dominant fashion (9 p.m. ET, SECN). With another 20-plus-point performance from Flau’Jae Johnson, who might have had her best game of the season against the Sooners, the Tigers should cruise to a fourth-straight win.

No. 18 Ole Miss likewise faces a favorable matchup after falling flat against Georgia on Sunday. Coach Yo just better make sure that her Rebels get off the bus when they arrive to play Missouri (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN+). Georgia, after receiving a season-high 36 AP poll votes following their big win over Ole Miss, should be primed to avoid their own letdown loss at Arkansas, the only team that is still winless in conference play (7:30 p.m. ET, SECN+).

As long as those team’s take care of business, the results of conference’s two double-ranked games should be of most interest, and here’s more on why.

No. 11 Kentucky vs. No. 17 Tennessee (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Although both teams currently reside in the middle of the top 25, Kentucky and Tennessee arrived here in almost opposite ways.

The Wildcats began the season on the very fringe of the top 25, ranked No. 24 in the preseason. Quality wins over current top-10 teams in No. 8 Louisville and No. 6 LSU boosted Kentucky all the way up to No. 7 before bad losses to then-unranked Alabama and still-unranked Mississippi State resulted in the ‘Cats sliding back out of the top 10. Tennessee, in contrast, began the season ranked No. 8 before an opening day loss to then-No. 9 NC State, which was later followed by uncompetitive losses to No. 3 UCLA and Louisville. Those stumbles saw Tennessee sink as low as No. 23. The Lady Vols have steady climbed back up the standings, albeit their lack of a signature win has prevented them from again sniffing the top 10.

A victory over the Wildcats could begin to change that, giving Tennessee back-to-back win over ranked teams. On Sunday, the Lady Vols eventually pulled away from now-No. 23 Alabama, 70-59. Head coach Kim Caldwell, who has not hesitated to criticize her team, applauded their mindset against Bama, suggesting the Lady Vols may be entering Thursday’s matchup at the right moment.

Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks is not communicating a similar sense of confidence in his squad. After his team came up short at Mississippi State, he bemoaned a lack of bench production that has left his starters overburdened

But after wins, Brooks has seemed plenty happy to rely on his starters, particularly the duo of Tonie Morgan and Clara Strack, to carry the load, complimenting them as “adults” after Kentucky beat Florida.

Of course, it’s not what the coaches say, but what the players do that will determine the outcome on Rocky Top on Thursday night.

For Kentucky, the pressure to perform is on Morgan and Strack, especially if Teonni Key, who injects the Wildcats with athleticism, energy and production from the wing, remains sidelined with an elbow injury. Strack has combined her reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year impact, evidenced in her three blocks and 1.4 steals per game, with a 16.1-point and 10.1-rebound double-double average. Morgan continues to lead the SEC in assists with 8.6 per game.

Kentucky’s offense, however, has not run as smoothly against SEC defenses, and Tennessee currently has the third-stingiest unit on that end of the floor in conference play.

Talaysia Cooper and Zee Spearman are the steady presences for Tennessee, both defensively and offensively. Although Cooper’s point production has slightly dropped to just under 15 points per game this season, she still leads the Vols in scoring, in addition to averaging team and career highs with 4.1 assists and 3.3 steals. Spearman supplements her 11.5 points per game with a team-best 7.1 boards and 1.5 blocks.

No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

After three-straight losses, Oklahoma is out of the conference contender conversation. And while a win here would change that, the Sooners’ recent efforts, especially their blowout home loss to LSU, don’t inspire much confidence in their ability to upset South Carolina.

This game, instead, is all about the Gamecocks. Can South Carolina, similar to LSU, show off their superiority against the Sooners?

The Gamecocks, certainly, have the defensive gear necessary to induce more issues for the recently struggling Sooner offense. Raven Johnson will apply her shutdown skills on Aaliyah Chavez, the freshman point guard who is weathering trial by fire through early SEC action. South Carolina can also prevent Oklahoma from turning to the steadier interior play of Raegan Beers, as the combination of Madina Okot and Joyce Edwards is too long and too quick for the Sooners’ senior center.

In conference play, South Carolina is allowing the fewest points per game. Conference opponents are shooting less than 35 percent on all shot attempts, and they also aren’t earning easy, extra points at the line, as the Gamecocks are committing the fewest fouls per game in the SEC. Generating good offense against the Gamecocks is a chore, one the Sooners, based on their current form, are unlikely to enjoy.

South Carolina likewise has offensive advantages they can exploit, whether through Ta’Niya Latson collapsing the defense and creating open 3s for Tessa Johnson, Agot Makeer and Edwards slicing up the court for transition scores or maybe even R. Johnson setting up Alicia Tournebize for her first slam.

And while the Gamecocks are good about not fouling opponents, they are great about getting fouled, as they have earned the most free throws per game in conference play. Offensive rebounds also remain a reliable source of production for South Carolina. And in conference contests, R. Johnson has been the elite orchestrator of the Gamecock offense, with the South Carolina offense singing with a 125.5 rating in Raven’s minutes, a mark that is almost 20 points per 100 possessions better than the next player.

If the Gamecocks arrive in Norman focused and engaged for a full 40 minutes, they should add another big SEC win to their ledger.