No. 1 South Carolina clashes with reigning national champ No. 9 LSU

The GIST: One of the regular season’s most compelling (and expensive!) matchups is set to take place tomorrow between the sport’s biggest powerhouse, No. 1 South Carolina, and reigning national champ No. 9 LSU.

• Here’s what you need to know before these 2023 Final Four contenders tip off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks: The only undefeated team in DI basketball is crushing every opponent in their path by a mind-boggling average of 38.6 (!!!) points. But they also have a notably easy schedule: They haven’t faced a ranked opponent since December 10th, and they play in the less-than-stellar SEC, where the only other Top-25 squad is…you guessed it, LSU.

The No. 9 LSU Tigers: The nation’s best offense, powered by junior forward Angel Reese and junior guard Aneesah Morrow, wins at home by a whopping average of 42.5 points. After dropping a road game against Auburn last week, however, the Tigers are giving vulnerable vibes.

The matchup: LSU has the leg-up in the programs’ all-time series, but they haven’t beaten the Gamecocks in 12 long years. South Carolina absolutely dominated their last meeting, but LSU has significantly padded its roster with transfer superstars Morrow and grad student guard Hailey Van Lith.

• TL;DR? If anyone can stop the ’Cocks before Selection Sunday, it’s the Tigers.