This women’s college basketball season was cinematic. The regular season games boasted every aspect of a blockbuster film: stars, action, suspense, unbelievable stunts and drama. Like the best film studios produce the greatest movies, the SEC Conference repeatedly promises the most exciting rivalries. Five of its teams rank in the top 12 in the nation.The regular season teaser trailers were fun, but fans are ready to watch the full-length films. Grab your lightly salted popcorn and Sprite and preview the SEC action through the lens of the silver screen.
The Favorites: South Carolina (27-3, 15-1) and Texas (21-2, 15-1)
The championship may be a coin toss, literally. Texas and South Carolina enter the tournament tied at 15-1 in conference play with a 1-1 head-to-head record. The tiebreaker was a tradition nostalgic of times before stats and analytics; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey flipped a coin to crown South Carolina the No. 1 seed.
No. 1 South Carolina (“Little Women” – the Greta Gerwig version of course)
The Gamecocks have won eight of the past 10 SEC tournaments. Power, dominance, strength. Why the “Little Women” comparison? Because, like Little Women, this team’s performance is only as valuable as each star’s combined chemistry. The Gamecocks lead the entire nation averaging 41.7 bench points per game, 10 points ahead of their next SEC opponent. Postseason stamina depends on rotational versatility. No one on the team plays more than 25 minutes a game because head coach Dawn Staley has more than ten women who can match up and score.
Amy March didn’t have the most lines in the movie, but her musings conveyed a pivotal part of the plot. South Carolina’s sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley plays a similar role. Fulwiley earned the SEC’s “Sixth Woman of the Year” award, honoring her production off the bench, which includes 11.9 points and 1.5 steals per game.
But just like “Little Women” lost the “Best Picture” Oscar in 2019, South Carolina lost a few games this season. Even though a 27-3, 15-1 record is still pretty impressive, the Gamecocks enter the postseason with their worst conference and non-conference record in three seasons. Their losses to No. 4 UCLA and No. 3 UConn reveal a game management vulnerability their rivals are ready to exploit.
No. 2 Texas (“Cars”):
Like each Cars movie has unbelievably gotten better than the last, each season sharpens the Longhorns’ legacy. Texas hasn’t missed the tournament since 2013, and every year posits the potential for a deep run. Madison Booker is this team’s Lightning McQueen. She is SEC Player of the Year for every statistical reason. She averages 16 points-per-game, and she posted even higher numbers against her toughest competitors including South Carolina and Notre Dame. Rori Harmon is the Mater to Booker’s McQueen. Harmon averages over six assists per game so Texas can maximize Booker’s power in the paint. But, like the Cars’ plots are still Pixar-ish even though they’ve been Disney-fied, the Longhorns still reflect their Big 12 roots. They live and die by their defense.
Somewhere between nearly a favorite and a dark horse: LSU (27-4, 12-4)
No. 3 LSU (“Dirty Dancing”):
“Nobody puts (LSU) in a corner,” Kim Mulkey (could’ve) said. The only reason the SEC runner-ups aren’t favorites is because of the new Longhorns on the block, but the Tigers aren’t content to stay in the corner. Like Johnny Castle in “Dirty Dancing,” the Tigers know how to choreograph some show-stopping offensive schemes, but, unlike Patrick Swayze’s character, they’ve fallen short of a standing ovation a few times, including two losses to Alabama and Ole Miss (23 turnovers) to close out the regular season. The team’s biggest test will be finding a way to win without their scoring leader Flau’jae Johnson, who will not play in the SEC Tournament to recover from shin inflammation. But they have plenty of other strong leaders, including Aneesah Morrow who recently became only the second player in DI history to eclipse 100 career double-doubles. LSU will look to Morrow to rally the team from the boards in the playoffs.
Dark Horse: Ole Miss (19-9, 10-6).
No. 7 Ole Miss (“Ratatouille”) Ole Miss, like Ratatouille’s plot, started slow, making little mistakes that kept them from taking down national giants like UConn and Texas, who the Rebels only lost to by seven and three points respectively. But, like the rather boring yet intriguing first thirty minutes of Remi the Rat’s narrative, when a team loses well, you want to keep watching. Led by court technician coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, nicknamed “Coach Yo,” Ole Miss continues to address the little mistakes that have kept them from the top of the leaderboard. Their efforts culminated in the perfect colorful, swirling Ratatouille moment that was beating LSU 85-77 to end the regular season. Like Remi, they’re not a dark horse because they can’t cook, they just don’t follow the same recipes as other SEC chefs.
Potential Cinderella: Kentucky (22-6, 11-5)
No. 4 Kentucky (“Cinderella”): This movie comparison wrote itself, but don’t squint too closely at the thematic parallels because most Cinderella teams haven’t won a conference championship. Kentucky won the SEC tournament in 2022, but the Wildcats haven’t made it back to the Big Dance since. Last season, Kentucky ranked third-lowest in the conference (4-12), and preseason polls predicted they’d end the season No. 8. But the preseason pollsters underestimated former Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks’ fairy godmother magic. Brooks brought Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack with him to Lexington and bippity boppity boo, the Wildcats are back in the ball!
Amoore is the marquee name on this roster. She deftly drives through defenses and alternates her tempo like a composer changing time signatures every other measure. Whether by score or assist, Amoore contributed to more than 50% of Kentucky’s points in conference action. She recorded 18 games with at least 15 points and five assists, which “is the most in the regular season by any SEC player since at least 2002-03,” according to the University of Kentucky. But every princess needs some help. Cinderella had Gus Gus, Amoore has Clara Strack, Amelia Hassett and Teonni Key, nicknamed the “CATs.” Thanks to the “triplets,” Kentucky is the only team in D1 with three players averaging more than 8.1 rebounds per game. Strack, Hassett and Key work in tandem to trace triangles on the court, flustering zone defenses.
Kentucky went one of three in their final three regular season games against ranked opponents, revealing their greatest flaw, fighting rather than running away when the clock strikes midnight.
Challengers: Mississippi State (20-10, 7-9) and Oklahoma (23-6, 11-5)
No. 10 Mississippi State (“Moonlight”)
Do you remember when everyone oohed and ahhed over La La Land only for Moonlight to win “Best Picture” after all? The frontrunners shouldn’t take the stage before they’ve won because the Bulldogs are ready to steal the show. They’ve hopped in and out of the AP rankings all season long and played Texas dangerously close, losing only by four points a week ago. Their season has been a wild ride, but with three players averaging double digits in scoring, this is a team you don’t want to forget about in the field
No. 5 Oklahoma (“Twisters”):
Like the Summer 2024 hit that took the theatres by storm (pun intended), Oklahoma is a fun team to watch. Their offense is fast-paced and chaotic, averaging 86.7 points-per-game, which ranks second in the conference. The Sooners lead the league by the boards, out rebounding their opponents by 13.2 per game. Oklahoma thrives off fast-breaks, though sometimes to their own turnover-prone detriment. Raegan Beers is as vital to Oklahoma’s success as Glen Powell was to Twister’s ratings. This team has the star power, they just need to put forty full minutes together.
Please, just win a game: Missouri (14-17, 3-13)
No. 15 Missouri (“Titanic”): No matter how many times you watch, hoping the movie has a different ending, the ship always sinks in the end.
Tournament Prediction: South Carolina
Every great blockbuster has an even better director. Dawn Staley is the longest active SEC women’s coach for a reason. She knows how to win.