One more to go: Good places in Columbia to watch Gamecocks in national championship
The whole journey has led to this.
The University of South Carolina women’s basketball team, which has spent the entire 2024-25 season at or near the top the rankings and has clawed its way through the NCAA Tournament, is now set to take on UConn for the national championship in Tampa, Florida.
The Gamecocks, who are the defending national champions and are looking for their fourth national title overall, dispatched Texas in the Final Four 74-57 on Friday night and are now set to meet the Huskies at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
While many headed to Tampa to see the games in person, there will be many more watching the game on TV, with Sunday’s contest being shown on ABC.
Bars and restaurants across Columbia and the Midlands will undoubtedly be showing the USC-UConn tilt. If you have a favorite watering hole that usually shows the games, it’s a pretty good bet they’ll have the national championship on, as well.
While certainly not a comprehensive list, here’s a look at just a few places that are usually reliably good spots to grab a bite and watch the Gamecocks in action.
Market on Main
Market on Main, located at 1320 Main St. in the heart of downtown Columbia, is the place to be if you want to go big. As in, the big screen. The multi-faceted restaurant and bar has a 23-foot jumbo outdoor screen where it will be showing Sunday’s USC-UConn matchup. For more on Market and Main and it’s menu, click here.
Steel Hands Vista/Cayce
Since debuting in Cayce in 2018, Steel Hands has become a well-known name on the brewery scene, a reputation that was bolstered in 2024 when the company opened a second Midlands location, Steel Hands Distilling and Brewing in the Vista. The Vista location, which is at 705-A Gervais St., partnered with website Gamecock Central to host a watch party for Friday’s game, featuring a number of “garnet-themed cocktail specials,” such as the Golden Swish, which includes Steelquila (Steel Hands’ handcrafted tequila), orange liqueur, raspberry puree, simple syrup, and lime juice. For menus and more about Steel Hands Vista, click here. Meanwhile, the OG Cayce Steel Hands also has a host of TVs and often has been a hub for catching USC games. (They even have a Sand Storm Gameday Lager.) For more about the Cayce location, click here.
Home Team BBQ Columbia
Sometimes Five Points is the move, especially if you can throw in some barbecue. A number of bars in the long-running neighborhood just east of USC will undoubtedly be showing the Final Four games, and Home Team is among the spots that has been a reliable go-to throughout the NCAA Tournament. Located at 700 Harden St., Home Team has an open floor plan and there are literally TVs everywhere you look. Plus, there’s the barbecue. And the mac-and-cheese. And those ribs. And, frankly, maybe one of the most underrated burgers in Columbia, the Fiery Ron’s. For menus and more on Home Team BBQ, click here.
Thirsty Fellow Pizzeria & Pub
For many of the most die-hard Gamecock basketball fans, Thirsty Fellow at 621 Gadsden St. has become a homebase through the years. That’s in large part because the pub is literally in the shadow of USC’s Colonial Life Arena, making it a traditional pregame and postgame hangout for those who attend home matchups. But it’s also a reliable spot to watch the team on TV while also grabbing a bite. And those bites at Thirsty Fellow are particularly tasty. It serves delicious stone-fired pizzas, which it is perhaps best known for, but don’t sleep on the Philly cheesesteak sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries. For menus and more from Thirsty Fellow, click here.
Top Dawg Tavern
For those in northeast Columbia, the Top Dawg Tavern in the Village at Sandhill off of Clemson Road is a solid option for brews, food and the Final Four games. It’s got an expansive dining room with TVs visible from every location, plus a patio for outdoor dining. The menu at Top Dawg features burgers, wings, nachos, salads, desserts and much more. They also have a full bar with cocktails, wine and a wide selection of beer. For more on Top Dawg Tavern’s northeast Columbia location at 498 Town Center Place in the Village at Sandhill, click here.
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
