Staley’s Gamecocks to play 8 games outside of SEC. Thanksgiving tournament details set
With less than three weeks to go before the season tips off, the South Carolina women’s basketball team’s nonconference schedule is finally out.
Highlighting the slate of non-SEC contests for the Gamecocks is the program’s annual game against powerhouse UConn. USC defeated the perennial national championship contenders for the first time last year. This season, the Gamecocks will travel to Storrs, Connecticut to face the Huskies on Feb. 8, 2021.
COVID-19 restrictions and protocols have thrown a wrench into scheduling for programs across the country, and NCAA recommendations during the pandemic call for a minimum of four nonconference games. Teams are allowed to schedule a maximum of 23 games and one “multi-team event,” an early season tournament with up to three games.
With the SEC announcing its intent to play a typical 16-game conference slate, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley assembled eight nonconference games — the Gamecocks last year played 14 such games as well as an exhibition. This year, previously scheduled contests with Pac-12 champion Oregon and Big Ten powerhouse Maryland had to be called off due to the pandemic’s impact, as did the program’s annual rivalry game with Clemson.
The Gamecocks will open the season on the first day allowed under NCAA rules, Nov. 25 at home against in-state opponent College of Charleston.
After that, they’ll participate in the Women’s Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, over Thanksgiving from Nov. 28 to 30. That four-team, round robin will also feature South Dakota, Gonzaga and Oklahoma. It will mark South Carolina’s first visit to Sioux Falls since the 2016 NCAA tournament, where the Gamecocks lost in the Sweet 16.
ACC power N.C. State will visit Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 3. The Wolfpack went 28-4 in 2019-20, winning its conference tournament and finishing the year ranked No. 8 in the nation by the AP and coaches polls.
Then the Gamecocks travel to Ames to take on Iowa State for the first time in program history. The Cyclones finished last year 18-11 and were ranked No. 18 in ESPN’s early preseason top 25.
USC then returns home to continue its series with Staley’s former employer, Temple. The Gamecocks and Owls will be meeting for the fourth year in a row, with USC winning the first three matchups.
As it has in previous years, the UConn contest will take place in February, presumably during the middle of SEC play.
Notably absent from the slate is Clemson — the Gamecocks and the Tigers have played every season since 1976, but Staley had previously indicated that the ACC, of which Clemson is a member, will expand its conference schedule this year, leaving programs with only a few nonconference slots left.
“They’re playing a 20-game conference schedule, so they’re only going to play four games outside of their conference. And, unfortunately, they don’t want to use one of those to play us. So we’ll have to pick up next year, hopefully,” Staley said.
In recent years, that rivalry has been one-sided, with South Carolina winning the last 10 meetings.
South Carolina’s SEC game schedule and the start times and TV details for the full slate are expected to be released in the coming weeks. The Gamecocks’ complete schedule will feature 24 games — USC played 30 regular-season games a year ago.
Staley’s team is projected to enter the 2020-21 season ranked No. 1 in the nation, the same spot they occupied at the end of the 2019-20 campaign when the COVID-19 pandemic cut things short. After being favored by many to contend for a national championship, USC returns three starters and all of its reserves from last year.
Because of COVID-19, the normally raucous environments the Gamecocks have enjoyed at Colonial Life Arena over the past several years will be limited — attendance will be limited to 3,500 people at home games, and fans will have to wear face coverings at all times.
South Carolina women’s basketball 2020-21 nonconference schedule
Nov. 25 — vs. College of Charleston
Nov. 28-30 — Women’s Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Nov. 28 — vs. South Dakota
Nov. 29 — vs. Oklahoma
Nov. 30 — vs. Gonzaga
Dec. 3 — vs. North Carolina State
Dec. 6 — at Iowa State
Dec. 17 — vs. Temple
Feb. 8, 2021 — at UConn
Home games in bold
Neutral site games in italics
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 10:49 AM.
