How to watch as South Carolina WBB opens NCAA Tournament vs. Tennessee Tech
The South Carolina women’s basketball team begins its national championship defense in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The top-seeded Gamecocks take on 16th-seeded and Ohio Valley Conference and tournament champion Tennessee Tech at The Colonial Life Arena.
Here is what you need to know:
South Carolina WBB vs. Tennessee Tech game info
▪ Who: No. 1 South Carolina (30-3) vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech (26-5)
▪ Where: Colonia Life Arena in Columbia, SC
▪ When: 4 p.m., Friday
▪ TV: ESPN (Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck)
▪ Radio: 107.5 FM locally (See full list of affiliates)
▪ Stream: Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app
▪ Odds: South Carolina is a 43.5-point favorite, according to DraftKings
▪ Next up: The winner of South Carolina-Tennessee Tech faces the Utah-Indiana winner on Sunday (Time and channel to be announced)
Gamecocks ready to defend title
For the first time in the last four seasons, South Carolina isn’t the No. 1 overall seed to begin the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks are the No. 2 overall seed behind UCLA. Still, USC is the betting favorite to win the women’s tournament by various oddsmakers, including BetMGM.
South Carolina is trying to become the first team since Connecticut (2013-16) to repeat as women’s basketball champions.
“We were talking about it the other day. It was like just making history would be like wonderful,” forward Senia Feagin said Thursday. “We made history before. We can continue to make history.”
USC coach Dawn Staley also was asked about the possibility of winning two in a row and how the Gamecocks’ recent run compares to UConn’s run. She said it is hard to compare what the Huskies did during that four-year title run but added what the Gamecocks have accomplished also is impressive — especially with the parity in the women’s basketball game.
“I think we created a legacy already, whether we win this one or not. I think it’s going to go down in history as our team, our program has done things that programs haven’t done in a very long time during the most competitive — like this is the most competitive that women’s basketball has been in a long time. There is a lot of parity within our game,” Staley said. “But for us to be able to have won three in the past seven, eight years, that doesn’t happen a whole lot. UConn is in a class by itself. I don’t ever think that’s going to be matched no matter what era we’re in.
“But since we’re in this era, I could probably say what we’ve done over the past eight years won’t be done again. So we’re just going to compare eras, and I do think if this senior class is able to do what we all are planning to do, which is win another one, yes, it’s even more of a legacy in our game.”
One of the strengths of this year’s Gamecocks’ team is its depth; its two leading scorers — freshman Joyce Edwards (13.2 points per game) and MiLaysia Fulwiley (12 ppg) — both come off the bench. USC leads the nation in bench scoring with 41.5 points per game, almost 10 points more than second-place University of Illinois-Chicago.
Tennessee Tech embracing underdog role
Tennessee Tech would like to do something only one No. 16 seed has done in the NCAA Women’s Tournament — beat a No. 1 seed.
The only time a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 is when Harvard defeated Stanford in 1998.
The Golden Eagles are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance and second in the last three seasons. Tennessee Tech has won three NCAA Tournament games, the last one against Richmond, 77-59, in 1990.
Tennessee Tech won the OVC regular season and tournament title for the first time since 2000.
Like the Gamecocks, Tennessee Tech is balanced in its scoring with four players averaging double figures — Reghan Grimes (12.9 ppg), Keeley Carter (12.3 ppg), Chloe Larry (11.7 ppg) and Peyton Carter (11.5 ppg) and two more averaging more than nine points per game — Anna Walker (9.9) and Taris Thornton (9.6).
South Carolina vs. Tennessee Tech game notes
▪ The Gamecocks are a No. 1 seed for the ninth time in program history and have made it to the Final Four six previous times as a No. 1 seed.
▪ South Carolina is 12-0 in first-round games under Staley.
▪ South Carolina has faced 16 of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, including three in the Gamecocks’ Birmingham 2 Region. The Gamecocks went 17-3 against NCAA Tournament teams, facing some teams more than once.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM.
