South Carolina, in rare position as underdog, to lean on effort, defense vs. undefeated UConn in Final Four

The Gamecocks were blown out by UConn in last year's title game.

They'll lean on their intangibles to change the outcome this time
South Carolina is hardly ever considered the underdog, but that's where the Gamecocks stand ahead of their Final Four matchup against UConn on Friday.

Last year, the two teams met in the national championship game, a game UConn won running away, 82-59.

This year's Huskies team is 38-0 and might be even better than that version.

Even with Paige Bueckers graduating, this may be Geno Auriemma's deepest and healthiest roster in a long time.

Sophomore forward Sarah Strong was just named the Naismith Player of the Year and senior guard Azzi Fudd is widely projected as the No.

1 overall pick in the upcoming 2026 WNBA draft.

And yet, the Gamecocks, 6.5-point underdogs (via DraftKings ) are no slouches.

Dawn Staley has guided this program to six consecutive Final Fours and two championships in the last five years.

Their improved offense has received a lot of attention this season, and understandably so; they'll certainly need their guards to knock their shots down to have a shot on Friday.

But they will also rely on their defense, post play and an intangible that Staley's teams always excel in: effort.

South Carolina has toughest defense UConn has faced
Both teams are in the top three nationally when it comes to scoring offense, but there is a bigger difference in rankings when it comes to defense.

UConn leads the nation by holding opponents to just 50.1 points per game.

South Carolina has the 26th-best defense while allowing just 57.5 points per contest.

However, the Gamecocks had a tougher strength of schedule by playing in the SEC.

While South Carolina has faced many top defenses this season, including Texas and LSU, the Gamecocks are a step up in defensive competition compared to UConn's other opponents.

The Gamecocks allow the lowest field goal percentage (34.7%) of any team UConn has faced.

The Huskies have the advantage in multiple areas, including beyond the arc with an elite 3-point shooter like Fudd.

But when it comes to matchups, Auriemma pointed out that this South Carolina team has more size than before and can make it tougher on the Huskies.

This means one of the most interesting aspects of this game could be the battle in the paint.

South Carolina is averaging 47 points per game in this area, which is second-best in Division I behind LSU.

UConn is averaging 42.2 points in the paint, but does it more efficiently than any other Division I team by shooting 65.7%.

UConn also has had the best paint defense this season, holding opponents to just 17.6 points per game.

South Carolina's post players are leading the way
One of the main pieces of the scouting report is sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who leads South Carolina in points and steals, while also helping out with rebounds and on defense.

"Joyce is just very skilled," South Carolina associate head coach Lisa Boyer told CBS Sports.

"She really could be a guard if she needed to be but she is very quick, very strong and very good around the rim with getting to the basket.

Her outside shot is a little bit better."
Meanwhile, Madina Okot leads the team in rebounds and blocks.

Despite only playing basketball for five years, the 6-foot-6 center has been a quick learner and an impactful part of this team since transferring from Mississippi State.

Boyer, who works with the bigs, has seen a lot of growth from Okot.

"You know, we're trying to get her up to speed as much as possible.

She's very, very talented, though," Boyer said.

"She's got a lot of natural ability, but I think the things that we're doing have grown her game, like just the nuances of the game, things that we've been able to show her."
The Gamecocks' coaching staff is not the only one impressed with how dangerous she could become, even outside of the paint.

When South Carolina faced Ole Miss earlier this season, Okot went 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, which is not a common skill from someone her size.

Ole Miss' Yolett McPhee-McCuin coached against Okot when she was still at Mississippi State.

When she saw Okot shooting 3-pointers in February, McPhee-McCuin said the first thing that went through her mind was "we might as well pack it up."
Boyer said Okot developed this skill during the summer when the team was doing a 3-point shooting drill and Okot showed a lot of potential.

From there, her teammates and coaches encouraged her to develop that skill.

"We're watching her like, 'oh my God, she's got really, really good form,'" Boyer said.

"She's got great spin on her ball.

And then we started putting her in situations where she was going to get those things in practice so that she would do it in a game."
South Carolina believes in its intangibles
Boyer said effort shows up in many ways, but especially with defense and rebounding.

These have been a signature strength for the Staley-Boyer duo since before they arrived at South Carolina from Temple in 2008.

Back then, "effort" was a non-negotiable when their teams were considered the underdogs.

"It's been our thing even when we were at Temple because we weren't always the best, the most skilled team offensively, but we were usually very athletic and very quick," Boyer told CBS Sports.

"And so I think that that was the start of our foundation, especially at Temple.

and of course, we brought that to South Carolina.

I think that's something that we have, we just spent a lot of time on it.

"[Defense] is all effort.

It's a decision, you know?

It's like rebounding.

It's a decision.

You're either gonna go get the rebound or you're not.

You're either going to try to get in front of a player, try to hustle and get to a certain spot, [try to] go and be the box out.

All of those things, that's all an effort thing.

Like, the shooting is a skill.

The passing is a skill, the dribbling is a skill."
While there is no specific stat for effort, rebounds are certainly a big part of it.

The Gamecocks are in the top 10 nationally with 42.5 boards per game.

Controlling the glass will be key if they want to pull off the upset against UConn to advance to the national championship game.