Takeaways from South Carolina's loss + New Years Resolutions

What does each title contender need to improve on in the new year to increase their odds of a trophy?

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While South Carolina is still indisputably the best team in the country right now, they showed they aren’t quite as dominant as they’ve looked to start the season in their loss to unranked Mizzou to start off SEC play. The Tigers were also shorthanded in the contest with just eight active players, most notably missing their leading scorer and rebounder Aijha Blackwell (who averages 16.6 points and 12.7 boards per game on the season).

In that game, Mizzou gave an interesting defensive blueprint on how to beat this South Carolina team. They packed their defense in the paint, with two or three defenders inside throughout the game. That look away South Carolina’s ability to drive in the lane and limited Aliyah Boston’s impact in the first half. While focusing their defensive efforts inside, the Tigers still kept a defender on Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson. This allowed them to exploit the Gamecocks’ main weakness, their lack of three-point shooting, and effectively forced someone other than Boston, Cooke and Henderson to beat them on the perimeter or in the mid-range. That’s a gamble most teams will be okay with given the lack of consistency from the rest of South Carolina’s roster outside of the lane.

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New Years Resolutions: What’s one thing each contender needs to improve in order to increase their odds at a Championship?

South Carolina: I’d like to see the Gamecocks improve on their perimeter shooting over the next two months. Henderson and Destiny Littleton are the only players that have been consistent threats from beyond the arc this season. Littleton averages around 12 minutes per game, which leaves South Carolina susceptible to more teams adopting Mizzou’s defensive strategy in hopes of upsetting them.

Zia Cooke shot over 39 percent from deep last season, but we have yet to see her knock down more than a pair of threes in a game yet this season. Getting Cooke going from deep would go along way in helping space the floor, and therefore the defense to allow more room for South Carolina to create in the paint.

Stanford: The Cardinal has to clean up their turnovers. While the Stanford offense has come a long way from their opening games of the season on their journey to replace Kiana Williams, they’re still averaging over 15 turnovers per game on the season. The issue hasn’t been isolated to the point guard position, and has plagued most of the Stanford roster.

The perfect example of how costly the Cardinal’s turnover problem can be is their loss to South Carolina. Stanford took a sizeable lead into the locker room at the half, but 13 second half turnovers allowed the Gamecocks to storm back and secure the win. Some credit is due to the South Carolina defense, but unforced errors also played a role in what ended up being a four-point defeat.

UConn: In addition to getting healthy, as injuries are perhaps the biggest issue plaguing the Huskies right now, UConn needs to find a way to settle into their half court offense. The Huskies’ current assisted shot rate of 62 percent is on par with the 2019-20 season, which wasn’t exactly a banner year for pretty UConn offense. Their assist-to-turnover ratio is also the lowest it has been since at least the 2009-10 season.

Nika Muhl has begun returning to practice for the Huskies, so adding a true point guard back into the mix could help make strides forward. UConn also needs more from their two assist leaders behind Paige Bueckers: Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Westbrook’s number improved in their first two outings without Bueckers, but she struggled against Louisville. Nelson-Ododa did tally four assists against the Cardinals, which was a move in the right direction. The Huskies will need more consistent play making out of both seniors until Bueckers returns.

NC State: The biggest question mark for their Wolfpack right now is their ability to respond to teams with significant size inside. In NC State’s most recent loss to Georgia, Jenna Staiti went to work and dropped 21 points on the Wolfpack. While NC State’s disadvantage in the paint isn’t glaring - they do have an All-American center in Elissa Cunane - it subtlety comes through in their stats on the season.

Most noticeable in their block rate, which is among the lowest in the nation. That contributes to the Wolfpack allowing their opponents to shoot over 40 percent on two-point attempts so far this season. While saying NC State has struggled on the glass would be an exaggeration, their numbers aren’t among the elite there either. If the Wolfpack is going to find success in late March against the likes of South Carolina or Stanford, they’ll need to do a better job cleaning up on the glass and defending the paint.