Evident by its 30-2 record and the one-seed it earned for the second consecutive season, the South Carolina women’s basketball team has proven itself to be one of the most talented teams in the country.
The team’s SEC regular-season and conference tournament crowns back that up, too. So do the numerous individual accolades head coach Dawn Staley and her players earned from the SEC.
But more than ever, Staley needs her group to match its on-court talent with mental toughness as the NCAA tournament begins.
The road to the Final Four is a long one, and even though the Gamecocks have set winning a national championship as their ultimate goal, they must take everything one game at a time, Staley says.
That starts with Friday’s tournament opening matchup with 16-seed Savannah State at Colonial Life Arena.
The Tigers, who won the MEAC conference tournament to earn their first ever NCAA tournament bid, will be heavy underdogs against South Carolina. The two teams previously met in December, with the Gamecocks winning a lopsided game, 111-49.
Despite the clear talent differential between South Carolina and its first-round opponent, Staley said it will be important for the Gamecocks to play well and set the tone for the upcoming weekend.
“We want to play our best basketball at this time in the season, because everybody’s going to bring their A-game,” Staley said. “We’re looking to stay sharp. We had good practices over the break.”
Although a 16-seed has only beaten a one-seed once in the history of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, South Carolina sophomore center Alaina Coates said the Gamecocks need to prepare for Savannah State as if it's any other opponent.
“We just make sure that we keep a level head,” Coates said. “We know that we can’t take anybody lightly at this point. We treat them like we treat anybody else.”
The chance to finally play an NCAA tournament game at home is a big deal for South Carolina, as is the opportunity to possibly play in Greensboro, North Carolina should the Gamecocks advance to the Sweet 16.
“I’m very excited,” freshman guard/forward A’ja Wilson said. “I was talking to everybody else like ‘Gah, I hope we get Greensboro, I hope we get Greensboro.'"
Still, to get to Greensboro, the Gamecocks must handle business in Columbia.
While the Gamecocks are the clear favorites against Savannah State, there’s the possibility for South Carolina to face eight-seed Syracuse in the second round.
Like Savannah State, Syracuse has already played against South Carolina this season, losing by just four points back in November.
Having the opportunity to play teams that they’ve already faced is a good thing for the Gamecocks, junior shooting guard Tiffany Mitchell said.
“We’ve seen them before, so I think we’re just going to look at tape, since we’ve previously played them and just go off of that,” Mitchell said.
Savannah State and South Carolina had four common opponents this year and the Tigers defeated Florida, a team South Carolina won by 35 points against in January.
Since losing to South Carolina in December, Savannah State has gone 17-7 and the Tigers haven’t lost since Jan. 31, winning their last 11 games.