March Madness Mix: Dominant Gamecocks amid Sweet 16 parity

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina is keenly conscious that everybody remaining within the ladies’s NCAA Event subject is coming after the undefeated Gamecocks — and exhausting.

That conviction has been boosted after two of the highest 4 seeds in Indiana and Stanford had been ousted — one thing that hasn’t occurred since 1998. In the event that they did not earlier than, every of the Candy 16 groups consider they’ll knock out the defending nationwide champions, irrespective of how dominant the Gamecocks have been.

It makes for good theater — which is sweet for the game.

Rebecca Lobo, the previous UConn star turned ESPN analyst, calls South Carolina’s dominance mixed with Candy 16 parity “an fascinating dichotomy.”

“It’s like parallel paths, you’ve this overwhelming favourite to win all of it, but you’ve UConn dropping to Marquette or Stanford dropping within the second spherical,” she mentioned. “It’s an fascinating time for girls’s basketball.”

South Carolina with its 40 straight victories is not involved about historical past, scores or if the Gamecocks’ drive for a second straight championship is sweet for the sport.

“We’re nearly basketball,” coach Daybreak Staley says with admiration. “We actually are.”

Girls’s basketball is flourishing even with the Gamecocks’ dominance within the midst of not often seen event chaos. South Carolina’s four-team pod in Greenville, South Carolina, is all chalk. The highest-seeded Gamecocks (34-0) play No. 4 seeded UCLA on Saturday with No. 2 seed Maryland taking over third-seeded Notre Dame.

South Carolina has three-time All-American Aliyah Boston, high-scoring Zia Cooke and a bench filled with gamers who might begin for many NCAA Event groups. That is helped the Gamecocks present a relentless push towards a 3rd straight Closing 4.

In the event that they run the desk, South Carolina could be the tenth undefeated Division I ladies’s champion. The boys have had only one in D-I: Indiana in 1976.

Analyst Debbie Antonelli believes ladies’s basketball followers love the brand new faces and faculties nonetheless alive on this event. She is not certain how followers would react if the Gamecocks’ seemingly inevitable championship run will get derailed in need of the nationwide title sport.

“As somebody who cares about scores, I’d be curious,” Antonelli mentioned.

South Carolina is making an attempt to hitch an unique membership. The 9 undefeated champions hail from simply 4 faculties: Texas, UConn, Tennessee and Baylor:

— UConn, which has gone undefeated an unprecedented six instances. In 1995, the Huskies went 35-0 with Lobo main the best way. UConn went 39-0 in 2002, 2009 and 2010 with a slew of All-People, together with Sue Chook, Diana Taurasi and Swin Money. UConn adopted these title runs by going 40-0 in 2014 and 38-0 in 2016.

— Texas was the primary excellent champion, going 34-0 in 1986.

— Tennessee completed 39-0 in 1998 with the three “Meeks” in Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall.

— Baylor and Brittney Griner went 40-0 in 2012.

Coaches and gamers say there aren’t any shortcuts for going undefeated.

Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti and Kara Wolters anchored the 1995 UConn staff. There had solely been one staff previous to the Huskies as undefeated champions, so Lobo and her teammates by no means mentioned that risk.

“It was enjoyable profitable, it was enjoyable not dropping, however I can actually let you know the undefeated portion was not one thing we considered,” she mentioned in a cellphone interview with The Related Press.

Kellie Harper agrees. She was a part of Pat Summitt’s Tennessee staff that was the primary to go 39-0.

Harper mentioned coaches do not enter seasons telling their gamers, “Let’s be excellent this yr.” Nonetheless, as the purpose guard on that 1997-98 staff, having star gamers is usually a difference-maker.

“Happening the stretch with three All-People, that made my job rather a lot simpler,” Harper, now teaching her alma mater, mentioned earlier than including, “but it surely gave me a variety of confidence that we will do something.”

Staley’s unsure all undefeated seasons are created equal. She recollects different excellent runs celebrated greater than her staff’s present streak.

“My participant, Aliyah Boston shouldn’t be the one which’s being talked about on males’s video games, OK? She’s not,” Staley mentioned.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has taken among the nationwide consideration away from the proper Gamecocks along with her barrage of long-range jumpers and triple-doubles.

The Gamecocks have overcome a number of challenges this season.

They trailed by 10 by way of three quarters at Stanford final November earlier than pulling out a 76-71 win in additional time. UConn held an 11-point first-half lead in February earlier than South Carolina rallied for an 81-77 victory.

The Gamecocks superior to their tenth Candy 16 in 11 tournaments with a 76-45 win over feisty South Florida, which trailed by simply 33-29 on the half. There was additionally an 64-57 additional time win at Ole Miss, which knocked off Stanford.

Sure, there’s strain to remain excellent.

“Nevertheless it’s additionally a variety of enjoyable,” sophomore reserve Bree Corridor mentioned.

South Carolina’s skilled roster — together with Boston, Cooke and fellow senior Brea Beal — is aware of what it takes to win. They’ve began since their freshman yr in 2020, when their first title run was canceled by COVID-19. South Carolina was No. 1 within the rankings at 31-1 and on a 26-game win streak.

The Gamecocks will want that have because the strain ratchets up.

In 1995, UConn’s two closest contests was a 67-63 win over Virginia within the Elite Eight and within the championship win, 70-64, over Tennessee.

Each UConn and Tennessee, that pesky Ole Miss squad and the remainder of the Candy 16 subject would welcome a shot South Carolina — which is nothing new for the Gamecocks.

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AP Sports activities Author Teresa Walker in Knoxville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.