One year following a loss in the Sweet 16 despite its one seed, South Carolina once again enters this season’s NCAA tournament as one of the nation’s top seeds and the Gamecocks are trying to get over the hump, so to speak.
The Gamecocks haven’t advanced past the Sweet 16 under head coach Dawn Staley, but South Carolina has an even bigger goal in mind: winning a national championship.
If the Gamecocks are to do so, they will have maneuvered themselves through several obstacles. Here’s a look at four things that stand out about the Gamecocks’ possible path to the Final Four.
No. 1: Familiar foes
As the South Carolina women’s basketball team gathered to watch the NCAA tournament selection show, they saw Savannah State and Syracuse pop up as two of the other three schools that will play in the Columbia regional. The Gamecocks faced both teams in the regular season.
South Carolina defeated Savannah State 111-49 in December and the Gamecocks open up the tournament against the Tigers on Friday. While Staley has warned her team about the dangers of playing a team with nothing to lose, the Gamecocks should once again cruise past Savannah State, potentially setting up a rematch in the second round between South Carolina and Syracuse. The Orange has to get past Nebraska in the first round, but an encore performance featuring the Gamecocks and the Orange would be interesting.
South Carolina had to rally in the final minutes to defeat Syracuse 67-63 in November’s Junkanoo Jam, which took place in the Bahamas. The Gamecocks would, of course, have the home court advantage this time around, though.
No. 2: Just a bus ride away
Should South Carolina advance through the first two rounds of the tournament at Colonial Life Arena, it will only have to make the short trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the Sweet 16.
Before the field was announced, ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme had predicted South Carolina to land in the Oklahoma City region, but to the team’s appreciation, the Gamecocks were placed in Greensboro, a city that’s less than a three-hour drive away from Columbia.
“You get really excited when you see your name on the screen and it in fact confirmed that it was Greensboro,” Staley said.
No. 3: Revenge against the Tar Heels?
With the way this year’s bracket is structured, there’s a good chance South Carolina could possibly face North Carolina in the Sweet 16 if the Gamecocks make it that far.
North Carolina handed the Gamecocks two of their five losses last year, including a season-ending loss in the Sweet 16 last March in Stanford, California.
That isn’t lost on the minds of the South Carolina players, especially junior point guard Khadijah Sessions.
“I would love to see them again and knock them out, personally,” Sessions said.
No. 4: A rematch with Connecticut is possible
The national championship game is still very far away, but with South Carolina and Connecticut being on opposite ends of the bracket, a rematch between the two teams could happen in the last game of the season.
South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country at the time, saw its undefeated season end when it lost 87-62 to Connecticut in Storrs in February.
Immediately following the loss, both Staley and South Carolina senior forward Aleighsa Welch said that they would like an opportunity to face Connecticut again.
A lot would have to work its way out for it to happen, but a part two between the Gamecocks and Huskies with a national championship on the line would be extremely intriguing.