LSU head coach Kim Mulkey has the Lady Tigers undefeated heading into Sunday's showdown at No. 1 South Carolina. 

COLUMBIA, SC — There will be two huge match-ups on Super Bowl Sunday.

AFC champion Kansas City takes on NFC champ Philly in SB LV11 in Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m.

But, for an incredible appetizer you have two of the nation’s top three teams, both unbeaten, going at it for SEC supremacy as No. 1 South Carolina takes on No. 3 LSU for a 2 p.m. tip in a game that will be shown on ESPN in Colonial Life Arena, which has sold out of its capacity of 18,000 seats.

LSU and South Carolina are the only undefeated program’s remaining.

LSU moved to 23-0 and 11-0 in the SEC with a 72-66 win over Texas A&M Sunday afternoon in College Station, Texas. 

Despite the win on the road, LSU was leap-frogged by Indiana who was in fourth place in the poll.  The Hoosiers moved to second in the rankings when Stanford loss for the third time this season falling back four spots to sixth.

“We played three tough teams in seven days and won all three,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “I think for the last two weeks that the opponents are really playing extremely hard. They’re playing with a lot of energy and excitement. I asked the team why they think that’s taking place and I said, ‘understand what’s taking place here; You are becoming relevant in women’s basketball.’”

The past few weeks has been incredible for the Lady Tigers.

And the past week as well.

LSU defeated national power Georgia 82-77 in overtime Feb. 2 and then three days later they downed host Texas A&M 72-66.

LSU is a perfect 23-0 on the season and 11-0 in the SEC.

In the victory over Georgia, Angel Reese led LSU with 23 points and 14 boards in her 22nd double-double in as many games to extend her school- record.

In the victory over the Lady Aggies, Reese put together her third 20 and 20 performance of the season as she tallied 26 and hauled in 22 boards in the win. Reese broke an LSU-record 28 rebounds in her last outing against the Aggies earlier this season.  

Alexis Morris followed with 22 points on 8-11 shooting in her return to Reed Arena. The Texas native played her junior season (2020-21) at Texas A&M before transferring to LSU last season. 

Most recently, South Carolina defeated No. 5 UConn 81-77.

The Lady Gamecocks are led by Zia Cooke (14.8 ppg) and Aliyah Boston (13.5 ppg).

SEC MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE

SEC Player of the Week – Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound senior from Bay St. Louis, Miss., averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and a steal in wins over South Carolina and Missouri. He became the sixth MSU player since 2017-18 and 42nd player overall to eclipse 1,000 points in program history. Smith has ripped off double figures in seven straight games and registered double-doubles in five of his last seven outings headed by a trio of 20-10 games. The 25 points versus Missouri was an SEC season-high for Smith, and the nine free throws made were a career-high.

·   SEC Freshman of the Week – Kentucky guard Cason Wallace, a 6-foot-4, 193-pound freshman from Dallas, Texas, had 20 points, three blocks, and two assists in the Wildcat’s win over Florida. Wallace missed the win at Ole Miss with an injury but bounced back to go for 20 points, in the win over Florida. He scored 10 of Kentucky’s final 16 points in the game and notched a career-best three blocks. The contest was Wallace’s 14th double-figure scoring game and second with 20 or more.

·   Six teams are receiving mention in the January 30 Associated Press Top 25 highlighted by Tennessee (2nd), Alabama (4th), and Auburn (25th). Missouri, Texas A&M, and Arkansas are among the teams receiving votes.

·   Two teams rank in the Top Five of the NCAA’s NET rankings (1st nationally), and nine are in the Top 50 (1st nationally).

·   Six SEC teams are rated among the top 15 defensive teams in the nation according to KenPom: Tennessee 1st, Alabama 5th, Mississippi State 6th, Florida 10th, Auburn 12th, and Arkansas 13th.

·   Five SEC players were named the USBWA’s Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List: Kobe Brown (MO), Ricky Council IV (AR), Brandon Miller (UA), Oscar Tshiebwe (UK), and KJ Williams (LS).

·   LSU’s KJ Williams became the 123rd player in NCAA history to score 2,000 points and have 1,000 rebounds on Jan. 21.

·   Alabama’s Brandon Miller leads all freshmen nationally with 18.8 points per game.

·   Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe had 37 points and 24 rebounds against Georgia on Jan. 17. It was the first 30/20 game by an SEC player since South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell had 44 points and 21 rebounds against Alabama on Feb. 7, 2017.

·   Four SEC coaches rank among the winningest active Division I coaches in the nation: John Calipari (4th with 783 wins), Rick Barnes (6th with 773 wins), Bruce Pearl (15th with 631 wins) and Kermit Davis (29th with 476 wins).

PN announced on Nov. 28 the formation of the SEC/ACC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball, which will begin as part of the 2023-24 season.

·   50 SEC players have been selected in the last five NBA Drafts. That leads all conferences: 45 ACC, 33 Big Ten, 33 Pac-12, 25 Big 12 and 14 Big East

·   The SEC has had 27 NCAA Tournament selections over the last three tournaments.

SCHEDULE/RESULTS (All times Eastern):

 Wednesday, February 8

*#6 Tennessee at Vanderbilt                                       SECN                                 7:00 pm

*Florida at #3 Alabama                                                  ESPN2                               9:00 pm

*LSU at Mississippi State                                               SECN                                 9:00 pm

Saturday, February 11

*Kentucky at Georgia                                                     ESPN                                 12:00 pm

*South Carolina at Ole Miss                                         SECN                                 1:00 pm

*#3 Alabama at Auburn                                                 ESPN                                 2:00 pm

*Vanderbilt at Florida                                                     SECN                                 3:30 pm

*Mississippi State at Arkansas                                    ESPNU                              6:00 pm

*Missouri at #6 Tennessee                                          SECN                                 6:00 pm

*Texas A&M at LSU                                                         SECN                                 8:30 pm

Tuesday, February 14

*Vanderbilt at South Carolina                                     SECN                                 6:30 pm

*Missouri at Auburn                                                       ESPN2                               7:00 pm

*LSU at Georgia                                                                SECN                                 8:30 pm

Wednesday, February 15

*Ole Miss at Florida                                                         SECN                                 6:30 pm

*Alabama at Tennessee                                                ESPN2                               7:00 pm

*Kentucky at Mississippi State                                    SECN                                 8:30 pm

*Arkansas at Texas A&M                                               ESPN2/U                          9:00 pm