How South Carolina’s loss to Texas could impact NCAA regional site, travel
South Carolina’s loss to Texas could have major implications for its path to a 2026 national championship — specifically when it comes to travel.
Heading into Sunday’s SEC championship game in Greenville, most bracketologists considered the Gamecocks the No. 3 overall seed in the field behind UConn and UCLA. But Texas, the No. 4 overall seed, was in position to jump USC and take that No. 3 overall seed with a win.
That scenario became reality after Texas’ 78-61 win over USC at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and means South Carolina will likely have to travel cross-country to Sacramento, California to play second-weekend NCAA Tournament games.
Had the Gamecocks won Sunday and held onto the No. 3 overall seed, they’d likely have played their potential Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Fort Worth, Texas.
Both regional sites are a trek from Columbia, but Texas (Central Time) is only one hour behind South Carolina (Eastern Time), while California (Pacific Time) is three hours behind South Carolina and involves coast-to-coast travel.
ESPN’s Charlie Creme wrote in his pregame bracketology update that he believed Texas would jump South Carolina on the No. 1 seed line with a win, since Sunday’s win also gave the Longhorns (31-3) and coach Vic Schaefer a 2-1 record against the Gamecocks this season.
ESPN also displayed a graphic late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s SEC title game asserting that the winner would be placed in the Fort Worth region as the No. 3 overall seed and the loser would be the No. 4 overall seed in Sacramento.
The top two seeds in the 68-team NCAA field appear to be set. No. 1 overall seed UConn, the defending national champion, blew out Creighton Sunday to advance to Monday’s Big East championship game. Geno Auriemma’s Huskies (33-0) will be a massive betting favorite in Monday’s conference final.
UCLA, the other team above South Carolina and Texas on the No. 1 seed line, routed Iowa to win the Big Ten championship Sunday. The Bruins head into Selection Sunday (8 p.m. March 15, ESPN) at 31-1 and project as the No. 2 overall seed.
How NCAA women’s tournament regional placements work
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament uses four regional sites, but the NCAA has only used two regional sites for its women’s basketball tournament since 2023 to boost attendance. This year’s regionals are at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas and the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
Regional placement is usually assigned based on geography, starting with the No. 1 overall seed in the field and moving down from there.
This year, for example, UConn will likely be the No. 1 overall seed and play potential second-round games in Fort Worth, Texas, since that city’s a lot closer to the East Coast-based Connecticut school than California and the West Coast.
UCLA is in a similar spot. It makes more sense for the Bruins to play in-state instead of traveling to Texas, so UCLA will likely play second-weekend games in Sacramento.
That split positioned South Carolina and Texas for a unique SEC championship game in which the winner got a simpler travel arrangement (and potentially less fatigue heading into Final Four weekend in Phoenix, Arizona) and the loser faced a tougher, farther away regional placement.
Based on bracketology from ESPN and other outlets, South Carolina (31-3) still has an excellent NCAA résumé and shouldn’t be at risk of dropping to a No. 2 seed.
USC will host Round of 64 and Round of 32 games at its home Colonial Life Arena.
But the Gamecocks will likely head west afterward. Their SEC title game loss may have put them in a tricky draw down the line, too. As the fourth No. 1 seed, they could now face top No. 1 seed UConn in the Final Four round. As a No. 3 seed, they wouldn’t have had to face the Huskies until the title game.
This story was originally published March 8, 2026 at 5:24 PM.
