Who’ll challenge No. 1 Gamecocks in NCAA Greenville regional? The latest projections
South Carolina, with a 32-0 record, is in prime position to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament once again.
According to ESPN’s latest Bracketology projections, USC is one of the tournament’s four No. 1 seeds, with Indiana, Stanford and Virginia Tech being the others.
The 2023 NCAA Selection Show airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN, where the official seeding for March Madness will be decided. Some conferences still have their league tournaments, which will play a part in how to bracket unfolds.
Joining USC in Greenville region
This year’s NCAA women’s tournament will hold the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds in two predetermined locations — Greenville and Seattle — instead of four sites like in prior seasons. That means Greenville will host two regionals of four teams, as will Seattle.
Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks are projected as the top seed in the “Greenville 1” regional. USC and the top 16 overall tournament seeds serve as host schools for the first- and second-round games. Columbia’s Colonial Life Arena will feature games either March 17 and 19 or March 18 and 20.
If the projections hold from ESPN pundit Charlie Creme, the Gamecocks would face either Chattanooga or Southeastern Louisiana, with Gonzaga vs. Baylor as the other game in Columbia.
South Carolina is one of seven teams in the SEC projected to make the tournament. The team swept its way through conference play for the third time in program history. The Gamecocks went 14-0 against teams in the projected bracket field.
The other top projected teams in the Greenville 1 region are Utah as a two-seed, Ohio State as a three-seed and North Carolina as a four-seed.
▪ About Utah: Utah (25-4) was tied for first in the Pac-12 during the regular season. Its top wins include victories over Stanford, UCLA, Arizona and Oklahoma. It also earned non-conference wins against two SEC teams — Ole Miss and Alabama.
The Utes, unranked in the opening Associated Press poll, were No. 8 in the most recent Top 25. The team is led by junior forward Alissa Pili, who averages 20.3 points per game. Utah is fourth in the nation in scoring and sixth in assists.
▪ About Ohio State: The No. 12 Buckeyes (25-7) were one of the last teams in the country to lose their undefeated record, and they spent a good portion of the season as a top three team. But they went on a slide after their first loss in January, losing five of seven games before ultimately finishing fourth in the Big Ten.
Ohio State is still a dangerous team. It has a top 10 scoring offense and is 16th in the NET rankings. Four of its players average at least 11 points per game.
▪ About North Carolina: No. 19 UNC (21-10) struggled with injuries late in the season, but still has a 6-4 regular-season record against teams ranked in the Top 25 at the time of play. The Tar Heels were the only team in last season’s NCAA tournament to keep the final scoring margin under 10 points against South Carolina, losing in the Sweet Sixteen by eight.
North Carolina returned four of its five starters from last year’s team, including leading scorer Deja Kelly and leading rebounder Alyssa Ustby.
Two other ranked teams that are proejcted to be in South Carolina’s regional — Colorado and Gonzaga — are in the AP Top 25.
GREENVILLE 1 NCAA WBB PROJECTIONS
- 1. South Carolina
- 2. Utah
- 3. Ohio State
- 4. North Carolina
- 5. Colorado
- 6. Iowa State
- 7. Creighton
- 8. Gonzaga
- 9. Baylor
- 10. Alabama
- 11. Florida Gulf Coast
- 12. West Virginia/St. John’s
- 13. Illinois State
- 14. Iona
- 15. Northern Arizona
- 16. Chattanooga/SE Louisiana
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 2:45 PM.
