How No. 1 South Carolina Women's Basketball Compares to No. 2 Indiana

South Carolina is the best team in the country as it's the last undefeated squad, but Indiana is right behind the Gamecocks with only one loss and could potentially meet them in the NCAA tournament if both teams make a deep run. See how its seasons compare.

No. 1 South Carolina women's basketball is incredible, but so is No. 2 Indiana. The Gamecocks are the one team that's keeping the Hoosiers from being the best in the country as South Carolina has topped the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for three seasons. What has brought this team near perfect success?

It starts with head coach Dawn Staley who's been at the helm for 15 seasons and led the team to many firsts. Two national championships (2017, 2022) were won as the University of Virginia graduate boasts four Final Four appearances in the last seven NCAA tournaments.

Staley has a plethora of basketball experience, and her resume is as flashy as her  talented teams. Her highlights include being a two-time Naismith Trophy winner in 1991-92, an Olympic three-time gold medalist for USA Basketball, and a seven-year WNBA player with the Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets. 

Feb 19, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana head coach Teri Moren is in her ninth season at the helm and is now the program's all-time winningest coach. The former Purdue player has led her Hoosiers to four NCAA tournament appearances including back-to-back Sweet 16 runs and one Elite Eight appearance.

Last season, the Gamecocks went 36-2 and 15-1 in conference on their way to their second NCAA tournament title in five years. This season is looking just as sharp as South Carolina is the only undefeated team left in the country with a 27-0 season and 14-0 conference record.

Exhibition games are totally used to warm up the season, but even still, the Gamecocks destroyed their neighbors Benedict, a Division II team out of Columbia, S.C. 123-32 on Oct. 31. 

Yes, it's a Division II team, but South Carolina didn't blink when Division I and ranked teams started entering the schedule. In their third game of the season, the Gamecocks defeated then-ranked No. 17 Maryland 81-56 in College Park.

If one were to browse through the final scores of South Carolina's games, you can see it's common for the team to beat good opponents by 40 plus points. The only signs of struggle have been two overtime periods between then-ranked No. 2 Stanford and Sunday's overtime road matchup versus Ole Miss. South Carolina held on.

Feb 19, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks forward Aliyah Boston (4) spins toward the basket as Mississippi Rebels forward Madison Scott (24) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana and LSU are the only teams in the top 25 with one loss as the Hoosiers fell to Michigan State 83-78 in East Lansing on Dec. 29 without star point guard Grace Berger, who at the time was out with a right knee injury.

The Hoosiers aren't always blowing their opponents out of the Big Ten waters, but the wins are still sizable. Indiana has nine wins over ranked opponents this season and has only been in overtime once versus Nebraska at home on Jan. 1. You can usually expect the Hoosiers to beat their opponents by 10-20 points this season.

The Gamecocks are stacked with senior veterans who are used to winning. When you look at this team though, they're not putting up crazy-high stats, which suggests their collective unit is stronger than any one star player.

Senior guard Zia Cooke leads the team with 15.5 points per game as one of only two players averaging double-figure scoring. Senior forward Aliyah Boston adds 13 points per game and 9.9 rebounds while bench player and junior center Kamilla Cardoso crashes the boards with 8.6 per contest.

The remaining starting five are all seniors including guard Brea Beal, forward Victaria Sexton and graduate Georgia Tech transfer guard Kierra Fletcher.

The bench runs deep as 12 players on the roster are averaging at least above three points per game. None of the starters are even close to averaging near 40 minutes per contest.

Indiana has a nice mix of classes represented as four Hoosiers are averaging double-figure scoring led by senior forward Mackenzie Holmes with 22.6 points. She also records a team-high 7.4 rebounds per contest.

The Indiana Hoosiers pose with the Big Ten trophy after the second half of the Indiana versus Purdue women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023.

© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Senior guard Grace Berger, junior guard Sydney Parrish, and freshman guard Yarden Garzon are also great offensive players while bench player and senior guard Sara Scalia is almost in double-figure scoring averaging 9.7 points per game.

Indiana's bench isn't as deep as South Carolina's as all of Indiana's starters are averaging more than 28 minutes per game. Scalia provides some relief with 27.4 minutes.

Compared to the rest of the country, South Carolina is at the top of the SEC and ranks seventh in the country in scoring offense with 82 points per game and ranks second in scoring defense limiting its opponents to just 49.5 points per contest.

Boston and Cardoso are the only two Gamecocks ranked in the SEC top five of major statistical categories in blocks and rebounds per game.

Indiana is at the top of the Big Ten as it just clinched at least a share of the regular season title Sunday with a win over Purdue. The Hoosiers rank 10th in the nation with 81.1 points scored per game.

Holmes is second in the conference in scoring behind Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and first with a 69.2 field goal percentage. Garzon is first in the Big with a 46.9 percent from downtown.

There's a chance Indiana could meet South Carolina in the NCAA championship game, so here's a stat comparison highlighting each team's strengths, although it could never fully predict how each team would perform.

No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 South Carolina Stats

Field goal percentage: Indiana, 50.2%; South Carolina, 47%

Three-point percentage: Indiana, 36.7%; South Carolina, 31%

Free-throw percentage: Indiana, 74.8%; South Carolina, 69%

Rebounding total: Indiana, 992; South Carolina,  1,253

Assists total: Indiana, 496; South Carolina, 408

Turnovers: Indiana, 346; South Carolina, 320

Steals total: Indiana, 231; South Carolina, 186

Blocks total: Indiana, 126; South Carolina, 238

Players averaging double-figure scoring: Indiana — Mackenzie Holmes (22.6), Grace Berger (12.2), Sydney Parrish (12.1), Yarden Garzon (11.4); South Carolina — Zia Cooke (15.5), Aliyah Boston (13)

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