South Carolina women's basketball: NCAA Tournament preview

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Kierra Fletcher’s status

Fletcher injured her ankle in the first quarter of the SEC tournament semifinal game against Ole Miss. She briefly returned in the second quarter but sat out the second half and all of the championship game against Tennessee.

While other players were free to take a spring break last week, Fletcher stayed in Columbia for treatment. When the team reconvened Friday for practice, Fletcher was still sidelined.

“(She’s) getting better each day. She hasn’t practiced yet,” Dawn Staley said. “She said Tuesday. We’re off (Monday), and she’ll be ready to rock and roll on Tuesday.”

Under pressure?

Staley insisted, as she has the past few weeks, that the Gamecocks don’t feel any pressure despite being six games away from a perfect season.

“This year we’re playing more experienced with the target on our back,” she said. “There’s pressure but it’s not as much pressure. We had to win last year. For our psyche, for Aliyah, for the freshies, we had to win because of how we lost the year before. This year they’ve learned how to win and how to carry that pressure each and every game. It doesn’t guide us. We’re not thinking about us accomplishing what we’ve accomplished already, we’re thinking about the next game, and we have to win the next game. That’s been the mentality all season long.”

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Brea Beal, always unflappable, seemed to both acknowledge and dismiss the pressure.

“I think it definitely gets harder, especially compared to last year and being undefeated,” she said. “It definitely gets harder, but we know what it feels like to win, we know what it feels like to lose. So we want the same thing as last year.”

It might be easy to dismiss the pressure when you’re preparing for Norfolk State (sorry, Spartans), but we’ll see if they say the same thing the last week of March.

Defense

South Carolina’s defense gets most of the attention, and deservedly so. But do you know who actually led the nation in scoring defense this season? That would be the Norfolk State Spartans, who gave up 50.1 points per game. South Carolina came in fourth, giving up 51.1 points.

Marquette finished 37th, allowing 57.9 points per game. South Florida was 58th at 59.3 points per game, meaning that all four teams gave up less than 60 points per game. 

Norfolk State (31.0%) and South Carolina (31.4%) are also first and second in field goal percentage defense. The big difference is that South Carolina also leads the nation in blocks and rebounding, while Norfolk State is 78th and 88th, respectively.

Commercial breaks

Get ready to see a lot of Gamecock sin commercials over the next three weeks. A’ja Wilson is in a new AT&T commercial where she cheers on the Gamecocks (complete with fight song).

Staley has two Aflac commercials with Mike Krzyzewski and the duck.

“I was literally scrolling on Twitter and I had to scroll back. It was cool to see her,” Beal said.

“I think she looks good.”

Staley said she agreed to do the commercials, which she shot in Los Angeles in December, in part because the offer was equitable. Everything Coach K got, she got.

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“It was no negotiating,” Staley said. “I probably wouldn’t have negotiated anyway because I love the commercials and wanted to be a part of it.”

If past NCAA tournaments are any prediction, prepare to be sick of them by Sunday.

Other games to watch

Aside from the games in Columbia, there are some other interesting games this weekend. These are the games I’ll be keeping an eye on:

#3 Notre Dame vs #14 Southern Utah – This is all about Olivia Miles’ health. With Miles, the Irish are a threat to reach the Elite Eight, without her they might not make it out of the first round.

#7 Florida State vs #10 Georgia – The Lady Bulldogs’ defense is no joke. Ta’niya Latson and Diamond Battles should be a great matchup, and a potential Georgia-Iowa second-round matchup would be a serious clash of styles.

#6 Michigan vs #11 UNLV – UNLV quietly had one of the best mid-major seasons in the country. The Rebels could easily upset the Wolverines, and whoever wins will have a shot for the big upset against #3 LSU in the second round. The Tigers were upset on their home court in the second round last season.

#8 Southern Cal vs #9 South Dakota State – It’s a tough draw for the Trojans, but I’m happy Destiny Littleton gets to wrap up her career by leading her team to the tournament.

#6 Colorado vs #11 MTSU – Tough seed for Colorado, and the Buffaloes have to face a strong mid-major on top of it.

Along with Georgia, I’m curious how #10 Alabama (vs Baylor), #8 Ole Miss (vs Gonzaga), and even Mississippi State, who plays Illinois in the First Four, do. They are battle tested and shouldn’t have any fear regardless of who they play. This group, more than LSU and Tennessee, will tell us how good the SEC was this season, and I could talk myself into any of those three pulling off an upset or two.

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