Gamecocks are wary of Sweet 16 parity

South Carolina is keenly aware that everyone remaining in the women’s NCAA Tournament field is coming after the undefeated Gamecocks.

That conviction has been boosted after two of the top four seeds in Indiana and Stanford were ousted, something that hasn’t happened since 1998. If they didn’t before, each of the Sweet 16 teams believe they can knock out the defending national champions, no matter how dominant the Gamecocks have been.

Rebecca Lobo, the former UConn star turned ESPN analyst, calls South Carolina’s dominance combined with Sweet 16 parity “an interesting dichotomy.”

“It’s like parallel paths, you have this overwhelming favourite to win it all, yet you have UConn losing to Marquette or Stanford losing in the second round,” she said. “It’s an interesting time for women’s basketball.”

South Carolina, with 40 straight victories, isn’t concerned about history, ratings or if the drive for a second straight championship is good for the game.

“We’re just about basketball,” coach Dawn Staley says. “We really are.”

Women’s basketball is thriving, even with the Gamecocks’ dominance in the midst of rarely seen tournament chaos. South Carolina’s four-team pod in Greenville, S.C., is all chalk. The top-seeded Gamecocks (34-0) play No. 4 seeded UCLA on Saturday with No. 2 seed Maryland taking on thirdseeded Notre Dame.

If South Carolina runs the table, it will be the 10th undefeated Division I women’s champion.

The Gamecocks have overcome several challenges this season. They trailed by 10 through three quarters at Stanford last November before pulling out a 76-71 win in overtime. UConn held an 11-point first-half lead in February before South Carolina rallied for an 81-77 victory.

The Gamecocks advanced to their 10th Sweet 16 in 11 tournaments with a 76-45 win over feisty South Florida, which trailed by just 33-29 at the half.

Yes, there is pressure to stay perfect.

“But it’s also a lot of fun,” sophomore reserve Bree Hall said.