South Carolina and Syracuse squared off last season in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Round of 32, and they will meet again Friday night in the 2016 tournament’s Sweet 16.
Last season, the Gamecocks had the advantage of playing the Orange in Columbia, but this time the teams will play at a neutral site all the way in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Being in the Sioux Falls regional certainly benefits the Orange, as they won't have to deal with the deafening noise of Colonial Life Arena. The four No. 1 seeds in the tournament typically are placed in the regional closest to them geographically. The University of Connecticut will host its regional in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Baylor will host the Dallas regional. The third No. 1 seed is Notre Dame, which will travel one state down to play in Lexington, Kentucky. The Gamecocks were seemingly given the scraps after the other top seeds had been assigned and thus must travel halfway across the country to South Dakota, eliminating any sort of home court advantage the Gamecocks may have had in say, Lexington, Kentucky.
The Orange come into the game fresh off two blowout victories over Army 73-56 in the first round and winning 76-59 over Albany in the second round. The Orange are 27-7 on the season and are led by junior guard Alexis Peterson (15.4 points and 4.8 assists per game) and junior forward Briana Day (10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds). Peterson and Day have a tall task ahead of them, though, as they will have to play defense against three all-SEC performers on the Gamecocks team: sophomore forward A'ja Wilson, junior center Alaina Coates and senior guard Tiffany Mitchell. Coates and Wilson account for nearly 30 points and 20 rebounds per game between the two of them, and Mitchell adds 15 points of her own.
The Gamecocks (33-1) handled their business in their first two tournament games, downing Jacksonville 77-41 and Kansas State 73-47. The Gamecocks might have a tough job slowing down a Syracuse offense that averages over 72 points per game. This will also be the first game the Gamecocks have played away from home in the tournament.
Tipoff is scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m. EST. If the Gamecocks advance, then they will play in Sioux Falls again on Sunday against the winner of the Ohio State vs. Tennessee matchup.