Overall I don’t disagree. However I would say 3-7 are pretty interchangeable depending on the day. I have kept saying that I think the youth on both Mississippi State and South Carolina will eventually cause a hiccup during the conference season. However both continue to win. I do think the senior leadership in key positions that South Carolina has greatly benefited them.
We played, and beat, LSU with their top player already. Wish Mitchell could play again tonight. Also, Carter very well may be back by the time we play them on Sunday.
Tennessee cannot afford to lose both games of this set. Their RPI could withstand 1 loss and still make in the NCAAT but two losses would clearly put them on the bubble. Holly did Kellie no favors by scheduling the crummy OOC she did. Their current RPI is 49 and is bubble territory. However given their name, gravitas, likely SEC top 5 finish, they currently would get a bid. However if for some reason, Nikki could win the biggest game of her career at home tonight and Carter pulls a Willis Reed and leads the Aggies to victory in TBA, the longest NCAAT streak will be in real jeopardy. Personally, I think Tennessee wins tonight to make this all moot. I am rooting for my SEC brethren @SECbbfan24 to pull the upset!
South Carolina has the potential for their freshmen to hit a wall as the season progresses. However I think T Harris and Herbert-Harrigan have the ability to help keep them focused and even carry the team when needed.
Unfortunately there is no way to predict how MSU will respond. My biggest concern is the length of the season will start to wear on our freshmen and there is no rudder to keep the ship going in the right direction. U Thompson is a high energy player that is going to hit our players early. UK did a great job of denying J Carter the ball in the post and she let them continue to do it.
To me the younger players are doing fine, my concern is our older players. Bibby, AEH, and recently Danberry have hit a wall, they just are not producing like we hoped. Our freshmen and sophomores are getting better and having a greater impact than expected. Bibby and AEH can help us a ton if they can hit from outside like they did last season and we need Danberry to settle us down when things get tough!
I still think A Boston will win it but would not be completely surprised if it was R Jackson. Boston is just steady and plays with a real understated maturity to her game. However, although I’ve only seen a limited selection of her games, I haven’t seen yet where she has put South Carolina on her back to win a game. That said I think she is a big reason South Carolina only has one loss.
Stats aside...Boston puts up good numbers but she limits her numbers because she doesn't HAVE to carry the team. That is the missing key to this argument...or discussion if you will. If Boston needed to score 25 points a game.....she could. The fact that her stats are lower is more in the need...than in what she is actually capable of.....Boston is the most impactful player because she plays her role and does it better than anyone in the SEC this year. She gets my vote for sure....