Who’s in the NCAA Greensboro Regional? Here are the teams on USC’s path to Final Four
South Carolina received the first overall seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament on Sunday, assigned to the nearby Greensboro Region in North Carolina with first- and second-round hosting privileges at Colonial Life Arena.
In search of a second-straight Final Four run, Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks (29-2) must win four games of the tournament within the Greensboro Region to punch a ticket to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The hunt for Staley’s second championship at South Carolina starts Friday with a game against the winner of Wednesday’s play-in between Howard and Incarnate Word. The Gamecocks’ first matchup will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Columbia, televised on ESPN.
Should the Gamecocks win their first-round game, they’ll move on to play either No. 8 Miami or No. 9 South Florida on Sunday with a Sweet Sixteen trip to Greensboro on the line.
Who else fills in USC’s side of the bracket? Here’s a quick look at the remaining seeds in this year’s Greensboro Region.
No. 2 Iowa
Perhaps the most intriguing opponent in the Gamecocks’ region, the second-seeded Hawkeyes feature Caitlin Clark, the sophomore phenom rivaling South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston in national Player of the Year talks. Clark is the nation’s top scorer, averaging 27.4 points per game, and became the first player in college basketball history to put up two straight 30-point triple-doubles this January. Iowa comes into the NCAA tournament on a seven-game winning streak with the Big Ten tournament title under its belt, and a meet-up with USC in the Elite Eight could be on deck.
No. 3 Iowa State
The Cyclones have high offensive potential behind likely first-round WNBA pick Ashley Joens, taking eventual Big 12 champion Texas to the wire in the conference tournament semifinals in an overtime loss. Still, Iowa State maintained an edge throughout Big 12 play with four of its five regular-season losses coming to Baylor and Texas. The Cyclones also claimed a non-conference victory over in-state rival Iowa back in December.
No. 4 Arizona
The Wildcats came close to winning last year’s national championship as a No. 3 seed, but Adia Barnes’ squad has since skidded in Pac-12 play without top scorer Cate Reese, who dislocated her shoulder on Feb. 20. Reese is expected to be back for the NCAA tournament as Arizona looks to replicate its Cinderella run for a second-straight season.
No. 5 North Carolina
Starting the season at 13-0 and finishing fourth in a competitive ACC field, the Tar Heels saw plenty of highs throughout the 2021-22 campaign. Most notably, UNC knocked off Louisville, a No. 1 seed in the Wichita Region, back in February, while all five of its regular-season losses came to ranked conference foes N.C. State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
No. 6 Georgia
The Bulldogs are the lone familiar face for the Gamecocks in the Greensboro Region. The SEC opponents met back in February when South Carolina traveled to Athens for a dominant 72-54 win without its top two bench players. Despite its early exit in the SEC tournament, Georgia saw non-conference success in early wins over N.C. State, the No. 1 seed in the Bridgeport Region, and No. 5 seed Notre Dame.
No. 7 Colorado
The Buffaloes are another team that started out hot and fizzled down the stretch, going 13-0 before losing four straight in Pac-12 play. Colorado upset Arizona in the conference tournament in a low-scoring matchup before falling to Stanford, the top seed in the Spokane Region and eventual Pac-12 champion.
No. 8 Miami
Miami made a thrilling run in this year’s ACC tournament, upsetting Louisville and Notre Dame en route to a berth in the tournament’s championship game as a No. 7 seed. The Hurricanes eventually fell to N.C. State, but they’re hitting a stride at the right time, winning eight of their last 10 games.
No. 9 South Florida
The Bulls had a knack for upsets in non-conference play, defeating then-No. 9 Oregon and then-No. 7 Stanford in November and dropping close matchups to UConn and Tennessee. South Florida was never able to find a way to defeat conference rival UCF, losing to the Knights three times, but come into the tournament with potential.
No. 10 Creighton
The Bluejays finished third in the Big East behind UConn and Villanova, and defeated Arkansas in Fayetteville during its non-conference slate, finishing the season at 20-9.
No. 11 Dayton/DePaul
Dayton dropped just one game in Atlantic 10 conference play but lost in the conference tournament championship, securing an at-large bid with just five losses to its name. DePaul features Big East Freshman of the Year Aneesah Morrow, whose streak of 23 consecutive double-doubles tracked Aliyah Boston’s pace before it was broken against Marquette on March 5.
No. 12 SFA
The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks won both the regular-season and conference championship titles in their first season in the Western Athletic Conference this year.
No. 13 UNLV
UNLV features Mountain West Player of the Year Desi-Rae Young and will make its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002.
No. 14 UT Arlington
UT Arlington upset Troy, the Sun Belt’s top seed, in the conference tournament championship to earn a bid to this year’s tournament.
No. 15 Illinois State
Illinois State won the Missouri Valley Conference championship as a No. 4 seed behind tournament MVP JuJu Redmond.
No. 16 Howard/Incarnate Word
Howard dominated in the MEAC tournament, winning the conference title to earn its first NCAA bid since 2001. A No. 5 seed heading into the Southland Conference tournament, Incarnate Word upset its conference’s No. 1 and No. 3 seeds to secure a trip to the NCAA tournament.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
