First look at South Carolina vs. Maryland, full Sweet 16 schedule for NCAA Tournament
The South Carolina women’s basketball team finally knows its Sweet 16 opponent. The No. 1 seed Gamecocks will square off with No. 4 Maryland in Birmingham, Alabama at 5 p.m. Friday.
South Carolina holds a 6-1 record all-time against the Terrapins. The two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament just once, and that came when USC beat Maryland 86-75 in the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
If South Carolina wins Friday, it’ll face either No. 2 Duke or No. 3 North Carolina on Sunday with a Final Four trip on the line.
How to watch the Gamecocks
Who: South Carolina vs Maryland
When: Friday at 5 p.m.
Where: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Line: Gamecocks by 17.5 points
About South Carolina
South Carolina (32-3) advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating No. 16 Tennessee Tech and No. 9 Indiana in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, respectively. The Gamecocks set several offensive program records in a 108-48 win over the Golden Eagles, highlighted by 22 points from Joyce Edwards.
They got a little help from everyone to help hold off a pesky Hoosiers team in a 64-53 second-round win.
This is South Carolina 11th-straight trip to the Sweet 16.
About Maryland
Maryland (25-7) beat No. 5 seed Alabama in a double overtime thriller on Monday to advance to the Sweet 16. The Terrapins trailed by as much as 17 points in the game but fought back for a 111-108 victory.
Four of Maryland’s starters finished in double-digits, and three of those starters finished with at least 20 points. Shayanne Sellers led the Terrapins with 28 points, Sarah Te-Biasu scored 26 and Kaylene Smikle scored 24.
Smikle, Sellers, Te-Biasu and Bri McDaniel all average more than 10 points per game for Maryland. Smikle leads this season with 18 per game.
Maryland is looking to get back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2023. Maryland hasn’t made a Final Four since 2015.
Where things stand in women’s March Madness
March Madness has been relatively chalk through the first two rounds, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacked excitement.
- South Carolina, LSU, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas and UConn all scored over 100 points in their first-round games.
- A pair of No. 10 seeds in South Dakota State and Oregon won their respective first-round matchups before being eliminated in the second round, though the Ducks nearly upset No. 2 Duke.
There have been three overtime games this tournament, which is tied for the most in a single NCAA tournament over the last 10 years, per ESPN.
Monday’s double-overtime game between Maryland and Alabama was the first in the NCAA Tournament since 2022 between UConn and N.C. State in the Elite Eight.
- It’s a good year to be a No. 5 seed: three of the four No. 5 seeds — Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kansas State — all beat No. 4 seeds to advance to the Sweet 16. Those No. 5 seeds are the lowest-seeded teams still alive in the tournament.
- Six teams from the SEC advanced to the Sweet 16 — Tennessee, Ole Miss, South Carolina, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma — which ties an NCAA record.
- One of the brightest stars in college women’s basketball won’t be playing for the rest of the tournament. Southern Cal’s Juju Watkins tore her right ACL during the Trojans win over Mississippi State on Monday night.
NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 schedule
Friday’s games
- No. 3 North Carolina vs No. 2 seed Duke, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 4 Maryland vs No. 1 South Carolina, 5 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 3 LSU vs No. 2 NC State, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 5 Ole Miss vs No. 1 UCLA, 10 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday’s games
- No. 3 Notre Dame vs No. 2 TCU, 1 p.m. on ABC
- No. 5 Tennessee vs No. 1 Texas, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
- No. 3 Oklahoma vs No. 2 UConn, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN
- No. 5 Kansas State vs No. 1 Southern Cal, 8 p.m. on ESPN
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 10:13 AM.
