South Carolina women's basketball moves up in AP rankings
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks won a share of the SEC regular season title for the fourth time in a row and fifth time in the last six seasons. Then, in antiquated fashion, USC earned the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament via coin flip over the Texas Longhorns, a team with whom the Gamecocks tied in the SEC standings.
After Sunday’s win over Kentucky, South Carolina moved to 27-3 overall and 15-1 in conference play. Following two top-10 losses in eight days, the Gamecocks won four consecutive games to end the regular season. The Associated Press rewarded the team’s return to winning basketball.
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When the AP updated its top-25 poll on Monday, South Carolina had moved up a bit in the rankings. The Gamecocks slotted into the No. 5 overall position in the country. The jump was a one-spot improvement from last week’s 6th ranking.
You can see the entire AP top 25 rankings below (first-place votes also in parentheses):
- Texas Longhorns (25)
- Southern Cal Trojans (6)
- UConn Huskies
- UCLA Bruins
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- NC State Wolfpack
- TCU Horned Frogs
- LSU Tigers
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Duke Blue Devils
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Maryland Terrapins
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Baylor Bears
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Florida State Seminoles
- Creighton Blue Jays
- Michigan State Spartans
- South Dakota State Jackrabbits
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This week, the SEC Tournament will begin in Greenville, South Carolina with the first games starting on Wednesday afternoon. The Gamecocks, by luxury of their double-bye in the tournament, will not play again until Friday.
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When USC takes the floor at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday, they will take on either the Texas A&M Aggies, Tennessee Lady Volunteers, or Vanderbilt Commodores. Texas A&M and Tennessee will play in the first round with the winner taking on Vanderbilt in round two. Then, the winner of the second game will earn the right to play Carolina.
If South Carolina can win in the quarterfinals, they will match up with the Kentucky Wildcats’ portion of the bracket. While the Gamecocks work their side of the bracket, the Arkansas Razorbacks, Georgia Bulldogs, and Oklahoma Sooners will battle with Kentucky to advance to the semis.
Eventually, many expect a winner-take-all rematch with the Texas Longhorns for the SEC Tournament title. The ‘Horns rank No. 1 in the updated AP poll and split the season series with the Gamecocks.
