No. 1 and close to home! Gamecocks learn path for 2022 NCAA women’s tournament
South Carolina is going into the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed for the second straight year.
The Gamecocks (29-2) clinched the top overall seed in this year’s tournament during the full NCAA women’s bracket reveal Sunday night. South Carolina is assigned to play in the nearby Greensboro Regional, along with Iowa (2), Iowa State (3) and Arizona (4).
Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks start their campaign for a national title in Columbia on Friday, as Colonial Life Arena will host the tourney’s first two rounds Friday through Monday. USC won’t know its first opponent until the “First Four” play-in game Wednesday at 7 p.m. between Howard and Incarnate Word — that game is also played in Columbia.
“We’re just trying to get back to playing our best basketball,” Staley said after the bracket was announced. “Whether you’re the top seed or the bottom seed, you’ve got to win.”
Should the Gamecocks win their first-round game, they’ll move on to play the winner of No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 South Florida at Colonial Life Arena before heading to Greensboro, North Carolina for the regional rounds.
USC’s regional assignment is close to Columbia, with just over 180 miles separating Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina and Colonial Life Arena. The three other No. 1 seeds are Stanford (Spokane Region), N.C. State (Bridgeport Region) and Louisville (Wichita Region).
The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight regional rounds will be held March 25-28.
The tournament ends with the Final Four at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 1, and the national championship game on April 3.
“We talk about winning the national championship,” Staley said. “Our players know what the stakes are. They’ve just got to go out and do it.”
This year’s NCAA women’s tournament is the first with an expanded 68-team pool, which includes two “First Four” games. The winners of those two games will play against No. 1 seeds in the Greensboro and Bridgeport regions.
The Gamecocks learned their seed and regional destination during a Selection Sunday viewing party held at Colonial Life Arena. An open practice was held before Staley and Gamecock alums greeted an audience, as the crowd watched the Selection Sunday show on ESPN in the arena.
South Carolina heads into the NCAA tournament after suffering its second loss of the 2021-22 season, falling to Kentucky in the SEC tournament championship game after a fourth-quarter collapse one week ago. The Wildcats earned an automatic bid from the conference tournament win.
With a regular-season resume that included 11 wins over teams that were ranked in the AP top 25 (and two wins over fellow NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds Stanford and N.C. State), the Gamecocks didn’t lose their place as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, despite a conference tourney loss.
Now, with no room for error and the SEC tournament loss behind them, the Gamecocks look to make their second straight Final Four run — hoping to earn Staley’s second NCAA championship this time.
It’s the first time in four years that Colonial Life Arena has hosted the NCAA women’s tournament. Games were held there in 2018, but Staley’s team played in Charlotte in 2019 when Columbia hosted the NCAA men’s tournament.
The 2020 tournament was canceled at the onset of the COVID pandemic. Last year’s event was held in a bubble environment entirely in San Antonio.
Columbia’s NCAA WBB tournament schedule
Wednesday: Howard vs. Incarnate Word (First Four), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday: No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 South Florida, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
Friday: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 (First Four winner), 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday: Winners of Friday games, TBD (TBD)
USC women’s basketball NCAA tournament history
Listed by year and with tournament seed, finish; 2020 tournament was canceled
2022 — No. 1 seed
2021 — No. 1 seed, Final Four
2019 — No. 4 seed, Sweet 16
2018 — No. 2 seed, Elite Eight
2017 — No. 1 seed, National champion
2016 — No. 1 seed, Sweet 16
2015 — No. 1 seed, Final Four
2014 — No. 1 seed, Sweet 16
2013 — No. 4 seed, second round
2012 — No. 5 seed, Sweet 16
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 8:07 PM.
