South Carolina women's basketball maintains top spot in NET following another top 5 win
Every year, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley gets her team ready for March. The Gamecocks face off against a brutal schedule each season, not just because the SEC has improved to the point of becoming an elite and deep conference, but because Staley schedules big-time out-of-conference matchups to test her team.
With one of the nation’s toughest strengths of schedule and a 20-1 record, it should surprise no one that South Carolina sits atop the NET rankings. In fact, the Gamecocks have played their way to the top spot in the NET most of this season.
The NET, for those unfamiliar, is the most important ranking metric used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. It factors in Team Value Index (essentially a team’s on-court results, location of games, and strength of schedule) and adjusted net efficient ratings (how well a team plays in those games, adjusted for the quality of opponent and location of games).
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The Gamecocks’ overall resume is head-and-shoulder above the rest of the country. Only five teams (South Carolina, UCLA, Southern Cal, LSU, and Ohio State) have one or fewer losses. The Gamecocks, though, have more Quad 1 wins than any other team in the sport (10). UCLA has five, Southern Cal has five, LSU has three, and Ohio State has three. USC also has 13 combined Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories; no one else in the country has more than 10.
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South Carolina also has ten wins away from home this season. That number is good for second-best in the entire country. Eight of the team’s victories have come against teams ranked in the current AP top 25. Five of the Gamecocks’ remaining regular season games will be against currently ranked teams, as well.
In contrast to the NET, the AP poll does not have South Carolina at No. 1. UCLA, the country’s last undefeated team (and the only one to beat the Gamecocks) holds that distinction. However, when it comes to NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday, the NET matters. The AP poll (and any other poll like it) does not.
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Following another win over a ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers team on the road on Monday, the Gamecocks don’t play again until Sunday.
Coach Staley and company will return home to face the Auburn Tigers in a Quad 2 opportunity. The game is slated for a Noon tip-off. SEC Network will broadcast the festivities from Colonial Life Arena, while the ESPN app makes the contest available via streaming. A win will give South Carolina its 16th in a row and 56th consecutive regular season SEC contest.
