The USC Trojans women’s basketball team is 18-1 for the 2024-25 season. The AP Top-25 Poll has shaken up with multiple ranked teams having faced off recently. USC is ranked No. 4 in the current AP Top-25 Poll.

The Women of Troy are one of the most dominant teams this season. The only undefeated team remaining is the No.1 UCLA Bruins. As January comes to a close and teams enter the final full month of the regular season, playoff seeding is at stake.

USC has already faced five ranked opponents this season, going 4-1 against them. The lone loss was against the current No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The biggest win of the season was arguably against the current No. 6 UConn Huskies, who were No. 4 at the time of the matchup. USC went on the road to defeat one of the toughest opponents in women’s college basketball. 

Given the toughness of the Big Ten conference, USC still has three ranked opponents on their schedule. One of which is the No. 1 undefeated UCLA Bruins, who the Women of Troy will play twice still. Their first matchup will be on Feb. 13 at a sold-out Galen Center.

The Trojans will also play the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes on Feb. 8 and No. 16 Michigan State Spartans on Feb. 19. The second matchup against UCLA will close out the regular season on March 1.

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In addition to No. 1 UCLA and No. 3 Notre Dame, the South Carolina Gamecocks are ahead of the Trojans ranked at No. 2. If the Trojans defeat UCLA that should boost USC’s ranking a little higher, especially if USC can go 2-0 against their cross-town rival. 

Notre Dame and South Carolina both have four remaining ranked opponents. Two of the Gamecocks’ opponents are in the top 10, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and the No. 6 UConn Huskies. If either or both Notre Dame and South Carolina lose, and the Trojans maintain their win streak, USC could rise in the AP-Top 25 poll by the end of the season. 

The Big Ten Tournament will take place from Mar. 5-9. This is a tough conference, one USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb has spoken highly of since the conference realignment. Gottlieb appeared on Trojans Live on Dec. 9 where she spoke about the power of the Big Ten.

“Of the 18 teams in the league currently nine, at least as of last week, like I said I haven’t looked today, but nine were ranked in the top 25. It is legit,” Gottlieb said. “We have to approach each game almost like an NCAA Tournament game. You get one shot, you don’t get to say okay let’s figure it out and get a doover when we get back home or something. That’s just not how we’re going to approach it.”

The USC Trojans are 8-0 in Big Ten conference play and on a 14-game win streak. There are currently five Big Ten teams in the AP Top-25 Poll, three of which are in the top 10. It is a tough conference, but the Trojans have done well thus far. The team will now have to close the season on a high note and hope for higher seeding in the postseason. 

The No. 4 USC Trojans women’s basketball team will next face the 18-3 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. PT at Galen Center.

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What some former South Carolina Gamecocks need to prove at the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl is right around the corner. This yearly tradition invites the best seniors and draft-eligible college football players to showcase their abilities in preparation of the upcoming NFL Draft. Three Gamecocks will be playing in the game with hopes to prove NFL scouts that they are ready for the next level. Here is what each Gamecock participant needs to prove on February 1:

EDGE, Kyle Kennard

  Defensive Tackle, T.J. Sanders

Linebacker, Demetrius Knight Jr. 

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South Carolina at Georgia

WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum

WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia 14-6, 2-5; South Carolina 10-10, 0-7

TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Rich Hallenberg, Daymeon Fishback); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)

Pre-game notes

As Georgia looks to snap a four-game losing streak on Tuesday night against South Carolina (7 p.m., SEC Network), it’s no big secret what the Bulldogs need to do.

“We’ve got to focus on not throwing the ball to the other team. Our turnovers have got to go down. Our defensive rebounding has got to get better,” head coach Mike White said Monday afternoon. “So, we’ve shored some things up, morphed some things offensively in the last couple of days to try to be our best version, in time, offensively. We did some good things, hopefully, it carries over tomorrow.”

It hasn’t been pretty.

Georgia’s assist-to-turnover ratio ranks dead last in the SEC at 0.95.

“We’ve gone back to the basics, trial and error, personnel … everything,” White said. “What you watch on film, individual meetings. I mean, we’re trying everything. We’re more skilled than our assist/turnover ratio indicates, but it starts with us.”

So, what exactly have White and his staff been attempting to do?

“It’s just what we’re running, our spacing, our tempo, our decision-making. Just try to put your guys in difficult situations in practices and we did it again today,” White said. “We actually, handled some stuff a little bit better today. So, hopefully, that carries over. It doesn’t always, but it gives you a better chance, at least the way we look at stuff. Hopefully, we have a sharp shoot-around tomorrow because that’s next on the agenda.”

Tuesday night’s game against South Carolina is huge for several reasons.

Despite the fact that three of the team’s last four losses were against Top 7 teams, the Bulldogs (14-7, 2-5) can ill-afford to waste many more opportunities, especially at home, where Georgia is 11-1.

“It’s a long season. We’re going to have good weeks and bad weeks. We’re going to have losing streaks and winning streaks,” junior RJ Godfrey said. “I think the biggest thing was to keep going, keep your head up, and be consistent every single day. I think we started off 1-3 last year (ACC play at Clemson), and I don’t think we even finished top five in the conference, I don’t think. But our Elite 8 was something that everyone remembers, and hopefully, we can do the same thing here.”

But White’s not concerned with anything past Tuesday’s game against the Gamecocks, who, despite the fact they’re looking for their first conference win, are perhaps a better team than one might believe.

Of South Carolina’s setbacks, one was a one-point loss to Auburn, a two-point decision to Florida, and an overtime defeat to Mississippi State.

“We’re not talking about the big picture at all. I try to be honest when I’m asking questions. I might have gotten a little long-winded there the other day, especially in a tough loss. It was a little bit of an outlier for us, a lot of an outlier. That really wasn’t us, per se,” White said. “That said, give Florida a lot of credit. They played really, really well, and they’re really good. But just a reminder to you guys and our guys. It’s not like we’re out of character, and just not playing well against an average team. That’s not the case. Our losses are to quad ones. That’s what it is. That said, in terms of where we stand with postseason stuff, that’s too much stuff to worry about.”

Still, White knows what his team is capable of – if it can just cut down the mistakes.

“Our guys know that we’re capable of beating any team in our league if we play really well, and any team in this league is capable of beating us in 2025,” White said. “It’s just what it is. It’s a phenomenal league, and South Carolina is very, very good. Yeah, they’re very familiar with the scores, the opportunities that they’ve had, and our guys understand that these guys can easily 4-3, 3-4 (in the SEC), what have you.”

South Carolina is 10-10 overall and 0-7 in the SEC, with possibly the most deceiving record in the history of intercollegiate athletics. The Gamecocks’ setbacks include a three-point decision to then-No. 2/2 Auburn, a one-point loss to No. 5/6 Florida, and an overtime defeat to No. 19/19 Mississippi State.

Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles leads South Carolina offensively at 15.1 points per game and is the SEC’s second-leading rebounder at 9.1 rebounds per game.

Jamaril Thomas is chipping in 12.8 ppg and a team-high 3.3 assists per game, while Nick Pringle and Zachary Davis are just shy of a double-digit scoring clip at 9.6 and 9.5 ppg, respectively.

• Georgia is 11-1 at home this season, with capacity crowds for the Bulldogs’ three SEC outings – wins over No. 6/7 Kentucky and No. 17/16 Oklahoma and a two-point loss to No. 1/1 Auburn.

• The Bulldogs entered the week ranked 39.8 in an average of six popular metrics (NET, KenPom, Torvik, KPI, BPI, and SOR) – an increase of 179.2 spots since Mike White became UGA’s head coach.

• Georgia is in the midst of a six-game stretch when the Bulldogs will face four top-10 teams – No. 6/6 Tennessee, No. 1/1 Auburn, No. 5/6 Florida, and No. 4/4 Alabama – with three of those matchups being on the road.

• Of Georgia’s 18 SEC games, 10 are against teams tabbed as top-5 seeds in the latest published edition of ESPN.com’s Bracketology, including six road outings at No. 1 Alabama, No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Ole Miss.