Defending champ S. Carolina OK as underdog
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is done talking about how her defending national champions get the “short end of the stick” when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.
But she isn’t done with using it as a psychological ploy.
“We will continue to play the underdog role. I don’t think anyone has us cutting down the nets,” said Staley, whose No. 2 seed Gamecocks (26-6) open the NCAA Tournament today against 15th-seeded North Carolina A&T (23-8).
On the other side of the sub-regional, No. 7 seed California (21-10) takes on 10th-seeded Virginia (18-13).
But as the brackets were announced Monday, it wasn’t the first weekend that bothered Staley.
Instead, she was upset her team would end up in Albany, N.Y., for a regional instead of Lexington, Ky.
She said it would be a third straight year her fans had to fly after regionals in South Dakota instead of being able to drive to Kentucky as they typically do for Southeastern Conference road games.
She said her team and fans didn’t get enough credit for building a program that leads the nation in attendance.
While Staley emphasized fans and travel, the matchup isn’t friendly either.
The No. 1 seed in Albany is undefeated Connecticut. The Huskies are only one of two teams, along with Notre Dame, that Staley has played more than twice and never beaten.
Two-time SEC Player of the Year A’ja Wilson has a trophy case full of awards but has lost to UConn by 25 twice. She also has fallen to UConn by 12 and 11 points.
Wilson shrugged off the bracket.
She said she likes seeing new places and is accustomed to getting a lot of attention.
“I feel like all four years there has been a target on my back, so it’s the same thing,” Wilson said Thursday.
Staley said one thing will remain true until someone beats the Gamecocks.
“The national championship will come through us,” Staley said. “I like that.”
As for the California-Virginia game, perhaps there are no more friendly rivals in the first round than Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb and UVA coach Joanne Boyle.
About 20 years ago, Gottlieb was set to graduate from Brown, but she didn’t want to be a lawyer like the rest of her family. A friend told her to go to Duke and talk to Boyle, who was an assistant for the Blue Devils. Boyle gave Gottlieb an hour of her time, even as her team prepared for the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve become much more than just mentor and mentee. She is one of my best friends. But I am definitely aware I wouldn’t be in this seat without her,” Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb and Boyle first coached together at Richmond for three years from 2002 to 2005, and Gottlieb then followed Boyle to Cal. Gottlieb took over as Bears head coach in 2011 when Boyle left for Virginia.
Since then, Gottlieb has been to six NCAA tournaments — and one Final Four — in seven seasons while Boyle has the Cavaliers back in the NCAAs for the first time since 2010.