South Carolina women's basketball: Three lessons from the UConn loss
After looking nearly unbeatable on Thursday night against Florida, South Carolina got blown out in an embarrassing loss to UConn. What did we learn from the weekend?
1. Something wasn’t right
That’s the only explanation for the utter face-plant on Sunday.
UCLA and Texas exposed some of South Carolina’s weaknesses in their wins. UConn didn’t do that – South Carolina just didn’t show up.
“When you lose like this there’s something else going on that isn’t just about basketball,” Dawn Staley said. “So we gotta figure that out and get back on it.”
Just two weeks ago, South Carolina was the hottest team in the country. Even earlier on Sunday, South Carolina was the second overall seed in the top 16 reveal and still the betting favorite to win the national championship.
Win tickets to the South Carolina-Arkansas women’s basketball game
They didn’t suddenly forget how to play, but clearly something was wrong on Sunday. Maybe they are tired and the SEC grind has caught up to the Gamecocks. Maybe they don’t have the same margin for error they are used to having. There could be locker room issues.
It reminds me a little of 2021. The Gamecocks scuffled in February. They lost a couple of games, including one at Texas A&M on the final day of the season, which gave the Aggies the SEC regular season title.
Then they got right in the SEC tournament and won it. They made the Final Four and were a missed layup away from advancing to the championship game (which they would have won).
When you’ve lost as many games this season as you lost the last three seasons combined, it feels like the sky is falling. It’s not that bad yet.
2. The NCAA Tournament is wide open
After Sunday’s games, UConn became the betting favorite to win the championship. This is your reminder not to gamble, kids.
It’s also a reminder that the NCAA tournament is so wide open that a team with exactly one impressive win this season could become the new favorite. Every team has issues.
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South Carolina doesn’t rebound well and is undersized.
UCLA’s old problems with turnovers, poor shooting, and forgetting they have Lauren Betts on the team resurfaced in the Bruins’ loss to Southern Cal.
Meanwhile, you the reader scored the same number of points in the second quarter as any Trojan not named Juju Watkins.
Texas beat LSU despite another game where the Longhorns couldn’t throw the ball in Lady Bird Lake, let alone the basket.
And LSU lost because somehow the Tigers’s offense was worse.
Notre Dame arguably hasn’t played a meaningful game since New Year’s (that will change tonight) and still has to explain losing to Utah.
3. Joyce Edwards is really, really, good
Edwards effortlessly dropped 28 points on Florida on Thursday. She had 17 tough points on Sunday.
Edwards may not win any Freshman of the Year awards. Mikayla Blakes scored an incredible 55 points on Sunday, her second 50-piece of the season. Sarah Strong, on the same court as Edwards, had 16 points and 13 rebounds in a win. Jaloni Cambridge has been fantastic for Ohio State as well.
They can’t all win, but each one looks like a program cornerstone.
