ESPN’s latest bracketology is out. Where does USC women’s basketball stand?
South Carolina women’s basketball wrapped up its regular season with a 60-56 win over Kentucky on Sunday.
The Gamecocks finished with a 29-2 (15-1 SEC) record, won their fifth consecutive SEC regular season championship and will be the No. 1 seed at the SEC tournament starting this week. The Gamecocks will play either No. 8 seed Georgia or No. 9 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals Friday.
With just 10 days until Selection Sunday, NCAA tournament projections will be released and updated more frequently as conference tournaments get underway.
ESPN pundit Charlie Creme has South Carolina as one of four No. 1 seeds in his latest bracketology projections, released Thursday morning.
Creme still ranked the Gamecocks at third overall — behind UConn and UCLA — and they would host the first two rounds of the tournament in Columbia. This lines up with where South Carolina was in the NCAA tournament selection committee’s Top 16 that was revealed Sunday morning.
Should South Carolina advance, the Gamecocks would be lined up to play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds in “Fort Worth Region 3,” per ESPN’s projections. The NCAA tournament’s regionals are being played in Fort Worth and Sacramento this year.
Who South Carolina could face in NCAA tournament
A few familiar faces are now projected to be in South Carolina’s region of the bracket.
SEC foes Alabama and Tennessee are both in ESPN’s latest hypothetical Fort Worth Region 3. The Crimson Tide is a No. 6 seed and the Lady Vols are a No. 7 seed. South Carolina beat both of those teams handily this year (and did so to Alabama twice). If ESPN’s most recent bracketology is how the bracket actually ends up, South Carolina could run into either team in the Elite Eight, should each respective team advance that far.
A potential rematch of a preseason exhibition with North Carolina could be on the table for the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels are a No. 5 seed again in this week’s projections.
The teams South Carolina would host in Colonial Life Arena for the first two rounds of the tournament haven’t changed much in this week’s ESPN bracketology projections.
The Gamecocks’ first-round matchup is still projected to be against the winner of a First Four game between No. 16 seeds Alabama A&M and Chattanooga. A second-round matchup between the winner of No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Iowa State would await South Carolina in the Round of 32. Iowa State is a new addition to the region in ESPN’s latest bracketology, replacing Villanova who are now a No. 9 seed in Region 4 Sacramento.
The toughest opponents in this hypothetical Fort Worth Region 3 are No. 2 seed Michigan, No. 3 seed TCU and No. 4 seed Ohio State. All three of those teams have been ranked in the AP Top 25 all year and are among the best in their respective conferences. South Carolina would likely run into Ohio State first should it advance.
If Staley and the Gamecocks were to advance to the Final Four they’d be paired with the winner of the Region 2 Sacramento winner.
At first glance, it looks like projected-No. 1 seed UCLA would be the team to make it that far. The Bruins (28-1, 18-0 Big Ten) have been dominant all season long but projected No. 2 seed Vanderbilt and No. 3 seed Duke could give UCLA a run for its money.
Region 3 - Fort Worth, according to ESPN bracketology
Here’s a look at the entire Forth Worth 3 Region from ESPN’s latest bracketology projections:
Columbia
No. 1 South Carolina
No. 16 Alabama A&M/No. 16 Chattanooga
No. 8 Oregon
No. 9 Iowa State
Columbus
No. 5 North Carolina
No. 12 Miami (OH)
No. 4 Ohio State
No. 13 Louisiana Tech
Forth Worth
No. 6 Alabama
No. 11 North Dakota State
No. 3 TCU
No. 14 McNeese
Ann Arbor
No. 7 Tennessee
No. 10 Virginia
No. 2 Michigan
No. 15 LMU
