NCAA committee projects South Carolina as a No. 2 seed — but in a brutal region

The postseason picture for South Carolina is starting to come into focus, and it’s not one Gamecock fans will particularly like.

On Monday night, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed the final top 16 rankings it will put out this season before Selection Monday on March 12, and South Carolina earned a No. 2 seed — in the Albany, New York, region alongside No. 1 overall seed UConn.

The selection committee rated USC as the No. 7 overall team in the country, alongside No. 5 Baylor, No. 6 Oregon and No. 8 Texas. The No. 3 and 4 seeds in the Albany regional were Florida State, ranked No. 9 overall, and Stanford, ranked 16th overall.

If this projection holds, the Albany region would feature four legendary coaches in USC’s Dawn Staley, UConn’s Geno Auriemma, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and FSU’s Sue Semrau.

South Carolina has already faced Connecticut once this season, losing 83-58 at home on Feb. 1. The Gamecocks have never beaten the Huskies.

The committee’s rankings are at odds with those of ESPN analyst Charlie Creme, who has the Gamecocks as a No. 3 seed in Lexington, Kentucky, in his latest projections.

South Carolina hosts No. 24 LSU on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for Senior Night.

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 7:27 PM with the headline "NCAA committee projects South Carolina as a No. 2 seed — but in a brutal region."