Interesting match-ups for me to watch for:
1) Aliyah Boston's foul trouble, or lack thereof:
Boston is not necessarily a player that's foul prone, but this is a similar match-up to the one with Kentucky a couple games earlier - Arkansas is not a strong rebounding team nor a strong shot-blocking team. Boston could have a dominant presence in the paint tonight as long as she stays off of the bench: versus UK, she picked up two quick fouls in the 1st Period and sat the rest of the 1st half, scoring only 4 pts, 1 rebound, and 0 blocks. When she returned for the 2nd half, she stayed out of foul trouble and scored 16 pts, 11 boards, and 7 blocks.
The Gamecocks on the foundation of Boston's efforts out-scored the Wildcats 43-29 after halftime, which was on pace to be a 86-58 route had it been done in the 1st half. With the Razorback's tendencies to allow opponents to out-rebound them and not to defend the rim, it could be a potential banner game for Aliyah if she is able to take advantage of the...well, advantages.
2) The team match-up between Arkansas's conference-leading scoring offense versus South Carolina's defense, one of the top defenses in the conference:
This will be the primary team-effort match-up for the game - Arkansas leads the SEC in points per game, while South Carolina is 2nd in the SEC in scoring defense and FG % Defense (by less than a percentage-point behind the #1 team, in both cases), and leads the SEC in 3-pt. FG % Defense, Rebounds per Game, Defensive Rebounds per Game, and Blocked Shots per game. Arkansas is in the middle of the SEC pack in Field Goal % - USC actually makes a higher % of their FGs - but leads the SEC in 3-pt. FG attempts and is 3rd in 3-pt. FG %, so they get a large % of their points from the perimeter. The Razorbacks also take a large # of free throws - they lead the nation in this - and are a strong FT shooting team.
Arkansas averaged 91.2 PPG versus the 10 non-conference opponents they faced (9-1), which has a 61st-ranked RPI and 166th-ranked SOS, even with Maryland and Baylor included. Against SEC foes, they've averaged 77.0 PPG in going 2-3.
South Carolina held its non-conference opponents (ranked 2nd in RPI and 6th in SOS) to an average of 56.8 PPG going 5-1 against them, and its SEC opponents to 58.0 PPG in going 4-0 thus far.
3) The team match-up between South Carolina's scoring offense versus Arkansas' defense:
The lesser of the two team match-ups, because while Arkansas' scoring offense leads the conference and is 8th in the nation, the Gamecock's own scoring offense is right behind it as the #2 offense in the SEC, and 13th nationally. The main reason here is that unlike USC's stellar defense, Arkansas' own defense is poor: 13th out of 14 SEC teams in Scoring Defense, 12th in FG % Defense, 10th in 3-pt. FG % Defense, 13th in Rebounds per Game, unranked in Defensive Rebounds per Game, 13th in Blocks per Game. They are decent in steals and forced turnovers per game, but I'm not sure if that will help much, and the Gamecocks are 2nd behind Arkansas in the league in fewest Turnovers per Game suffered.
South Carolina averaged 85.2 PPG against non-conference opponents going 5-1. Against SEC opponents, they've averaged 83.3 PPG. Arkansas held its non-conference opponents to an average of 68.1 PPG going 9-1, and its SEC opponents to 81.0 PPG going 2-3.....
gamecocksonline.com
