How to watch Gamecock WBB’s second round March Madness matchup with Southern Cal
South Carolina women’s basketball is one win away from its 16th all-time Sweet 16 appearance in program history.
To get there though, Dawn Staley and the No. 1 Gamecocks will have to beat No. 9-seed Southern California in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday.
A victory would send South Carolina to Sacramento, California for the Sweet 16. Should the Gamecocks advance, they would play the winner of No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Michigan State.
Here’s what you need to know for South Carolina and Southern Cal’s Monday night matchup at Colonial Life Arena:
March Madness: How to watch South Carolina vs Southern Cal
- Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs No. 9 Southern Cal
- When: Monday, March 23 at 8 p.m.
- Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN.com or the ESPN app
- Radio: 107.5 FM
Betting lines, odds for the matchup
South Carolina is, once again, heavily favored in the matchup.
As of Sunday, analytics site BartTorvik.com gives the Gamecocks a 96% of victory with a projection to win by 18.2 points. ESPN Analytics gives South Carolina a 94.2% chance of winning.
DraftKings lists South Carolina as a 22.5-point favorite.
How they got here
South Carolina (32-2) cruised to an easy victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The Gamecocks beat No. 16 seed Southern 103-34, marking the biggest win in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. Five different Gamecocks scored more than 10 points in the matchup, led by Joyce Edwards’ 27-point game.
Southern Cal’s first-round matchup wasn’t quite as easy. The Trojans had a back-and-forth game with No. 8 seed Clemson. The Tigers nearly won, but a potential game-winning buzzer beater was waved off and sent the game to overtime. Southern Cal took advantage of the extra time and won 71-67, powered by a 31-point performance from star freshman Jazzy Davidson.
The last time these two met
The game Monday will be a rematch of an earlier regular-season game.
The Gamecocks traveled out to Los Angeles for their fourth contest of the season against the Trojans. South Carolina beat then-No. 8 ranked Southern Cal 69-52. The Gamecocks had just a two-point lead at halftime but used a big push to start the second half to win its first ranked test of the season.
South Carolina had four different players record double-digits in the scoring column in the matchup. Edwards led all scorers with 17 points. Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson followed with 14 points each, and Ta’Niya Latson added 12. Both Edwards and Raven Johnson also had a double-double and Madina Okot racked up 15 rebounds.
Southern Cal was led by Kennedy Smith’s 12 points and 10 points from Kara Dunn. Davidson was limited to just eight points in the game. Granted, it was only her third college game.
Quick opponent scout
Here’s a glance at head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans:
- Scoring leaders: Davidson (18 ppg), Dunn (15.5 ppg), Smith (11.6 ppg)
- Rebounding leaders: Davidson (5.7 rpg), Dunn (5.1 rpg), Laura Williams (4.8 rpg)
- Assists leaders: Davidson (4.2 apg), Smith (3.7 apg), Malia Samuels (2.4 apg)
Davidson, the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2025, earned her stripes for the Trojans this year and was rewarded with the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award. She also landed on the All-Big Ten First Team, All-Big Ten Defensive Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Dunn was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the league’s coaches and the All-Big Ten Third Team by the league’s media. Smith earned an All-Big Ten Defensive Team nod from the league’s coaches.
A look at South Carolina
Here’s a look at the stats of a few key players for South Carolina:
- Scoring leaders: Edwards (19.8 ppg), Latson (14.4 ppg), Okot (13.5 ppg)
- Rebounding leaders: Okot (10.8 rpg), Edwards (6.3 rpg), Raven Johnson (4.0 rpg)
- Assists leaders: Raven Johnson (5.4 apg), Latson (3.6 apg), Maddy McDaniel (2.8 apg)
Edwards and Raven Johnson have racked up the most awards this season for the Gamecocks.
Johnson was named the SEC Player of the Year and was named to the AP All-American Third Team. Edwards was named a First Team All-SEC player and has earned All-America status from the AP and USBWA.
Latson, Tessa Johnson and Okot all earned All-SEC Second Team nods.
Raven Johnson, Latson, Edwards and Okot are all finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award at their respective positions.
