South Carolina women’s title hopes over as NCAA cancels March Madness
A dream season for South Carolina women’s basketball has come to an abrupt end as the NCAA has canceled all winter and spring sport championships, including the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the College World Series, in response to the growing spread of the COVID-19 disease.
The NCAA had previously said it would continue with the March Madness tournaments but limit attendance to essential personnel and family members as the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 spreads across the country. But the NBA suspended its season late Wednesday after a player tested positive for the virus, and the MLB, MLS and NHL followed suit Thursday.
The SEC, along with several other college conferences, also announced Thursday that it was suspending all competitions, including its men’s basketball tournament, through March 30, while saying that teams and individuals could still compete in NCAA championships. Now those will not happen.
“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the NCAA said in a statement.
At South Carolina, the NCAA’s decision most prominently affects the Gamecocks’ women’s basketball team, coached by Dawn Staley.
Relying on a starting lineup with three freshmen and two seniors, USC rose from a preseason ranking of No. 8 in the AP poll to become the nation’s top team. They defeated 13 ranked opponents and 16 top-50 RPI opponents and won 26 games in a row, a program record. They also completed a 19-0 sweep of SEC play, both in the regular season and the conference tournament. Staley was named SEC Coach of the Year, while freshman forward Aliyah Boston was named both Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
How the NCAA will determine a national champion for this season, if at all, is still uncertain, but USC has ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for nine consecutive weeks and in the coaches poll for five. The Gamecocks also rate first in RPI and had been widely expected to be named the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament this upcoming Monday.
“This is a difficult time with so many conflicting emotions,” Staley said in a statement. “First and foremost, we have to recognize how important it is to do the right thing for our community. Sports is a big part of our lives, but just one part of how we are connected to each other. We need to step back and think about the larger good served by canceling events that put people at risk.
“As competitors, we are certainly disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to contend for a second National Championship. That said, it will not diminish the way we look at our season, how we value our body of work over the last few four months. We have measured ourselves against the best in the country over that time, and will embrace and relish that accomplishment.
“For our seniors and the others throughout the country, who will not have the chance to finish their careers the way they expected to — that’s a tougher, more emotional thing to process. Again, we have to lean on that this is the right thing for everyone’s health and safety.”
As the No. 1 team in the country, South Carolina was expected to be one of 16 hosts for the first two rounds of the NCAA championship, then potentially advance to a regional at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The Final Four this season had been scheduled to take place in New Orleans.
USC has already sold roughly 5,000 booklets for the first two rounds. The athletics department said it will release refund information for those booklets “in the near future.” Bon Secours Wellness Arena has said it will contact fans who bought tickets for the regional directly with refund information, according to the Greenville News.
The NCAA’s announcement also affects South Carolina’s baseball and softball teams. The Gamecock baseball team had a slow start to the season but had won its last five games and was hoping to return to the NCAA tournament after missing the tourney last year, while the softball team ranked No. 16 in the latest poll and has made the last seven NCAA tournaments.
The College World Series and Women’s College World Series were scheduled to take place in June.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
